Saint Seiya 1. Prologue

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

Fantasy-Magician: Thank you for your review. I apreciate honest, just criticism.

_"There is nothing special about Lance. He's a normal human, with perhaps less natural talent for battle than us. He's not a god, nor a monster, nor a favoured human... He just worked harder than everyone else, that's all!"_

_-_20th century's Taurus Aldebaran, to the Saints of Bronze

Chapter 1- Prologue

Sanctuary, 21 years after the "Big Clash", 20 years after Saori's birth...

Lance stood on the stairs leading to the halls of the Pope, his body marked by injuries from his most recent battle in practically all of it's clothless surface, facing the great building whose defenses no enemy has ever breached... at least, under normal circunstances. Behind him, several Saints of Bronze, who almost succeded in stopping him, struggled to get up, to stop him somehow, to once again pull off a miracle, overcome all odds and defeat him, their bodies bruised and damaged and their cloths almost brought to the point of completely breaking apart. One of them, the most determined, was already getting up, calling him insane and a traitor, his whole body trembling due to the massive effort he was employing. A few weeks before, Lance would have commended his effort. But right now he found it to be just.. _annoying_...

But Lance wasn't interested in him, but in his target. His great objective. The one person he had spent the last 21 years preparing, and trying, to kill. A woman. A young, beautiful woman, almost as old as his great mission. She was walking down the massive stairs, heading towards him, her eyes with a mix of sadness and horror. Was she insane? Did she have a death wish? The Saints of Bronze begged her to run, to hide, to do anything except getting close to him. Deep down, Lance had the same plea. That she would run away from him, that this moment would never have to come. That, once again, he would be denied of his victory and sent to the lowest of prisons, the most horrible of nightmares...But Lance repressed that desire, knowing that his misson was far to important. Far too vital. With each passing second she got closer and closer, her long, purple hair flowing behind her back as she confronted her assassin. Before Lance even realized it, she was before him, just two or three steps away from him. Any attack in Lance's disposal would end everything, would allow him to achieve success. Any attack...

What was he doing? Why was he unable to move? Was it the girl? Some sort of spell? No. Deep down Lance knew that no one was preventing him from doing anything. He was immobilized... by his own fear! By his own feelings! Lance urged himself to snap out of his own self-induced trance, to see things as they were like he always had, but the girl then started talking to him, stripping him of all the strenght he had acquired throughout his life. She was pleading, begging him to stop. To think things through. To end that horrible nightmare of a day.

-"...I have to do this"- he answered, flatly, struggling against his own emotions-"...it's my duty. My responsability to..."

-"Lance, please, reconsider."- she begged, interrupting him, her voice causing all of his mental and spiritual training to fall apart-"Please...don't do this!"

Lance, overcoming his own, true desire, ignores her plea and climbs another stair step.

-"GET AWAY FROM HER!"- threatened one of the beaten up Saints behind him with the little strenght he had left.

Lance immediately recognized the voice, having got used to hearing it over the last few years... But he ignored it, knowing that, in the state he was, the Saint was not even able to stand up straight, much less get in his way. However, before he could take another step towards the girl, something unexpected happened. The girl, the one who he was trying to kill at all costs, ends up getting closer to him instead of the opposite. There was now no distance between the two. She was looking him in the eyes, almost gazing directly into his tortured soul, grabbing Lance's arms and shacking them, trying to reason with him, trying to tell him that what he was about to do would have terrible repercussions. Lance was completely unable to respond. He simply had nothing to say. Behind him, the Saints saw Lance, who had been relentless and unforgiving in his mission up until now, seemingly paralyzed by the girl's words and actions, much to their puzzlement.

Then, all of a sudden, something even more shocking happened. The girl, with tears in her eyes, embraced Lance, head in his chest, eyes closed trying to stop the flow of tears, her arms on his back. The Saints were now all awe-struck, though one of them had enough willpower to snap out of it and almost yell at her to get away from Lance. The girl, in her soft, eloquent voice, whispers to Lance one final beg. To stop the fighting, to think of another way. Lance was intoxicated by the effect of the hug. He was touching her, smelling her, hearing her voice and it was...wonderful. But he would not be dissuaded...he would not be..._SEDUCED_! But... it felt so.. right. Every horror he had ever experienced seemed to vanish from his mind. The very contact with her seemed to make him forget about everything that was wrong with the world...everything he was trying to correct. The aura of unrest that filled the world and had been growing for the past six years, ever since the saints defeated Hades, seemed to disappear during that heartfelt moment. Lance wished. He wished with a burning desire that things didn't have to come to this. That he could forget his mission, forget the state the world was in, just so that he could be with her. She looks up to him. They look each other in the eyes for a moment once again and, to the other Saints's shock, kiss. A long, deep, love-filled kiss. Their lips part, and the girl looks at Lance to see tears rolling down his face, a sad look in his eyes like no one has ever seen in his face. She whispers his name. Lance embraces her and, with a trembling voice, whispers to her ear:

-"Forgive me..."

Before she could even process those words, Lance's right arm moves away from her body and is then suddenly enveloped by a thin layer of golden cosmos. Before anyone could do anything at all, Lance's hand, now sharp as a blade, places itself in a karate chop pose and stabs her chest, piercing her innocent heart. Lance's hand leaves her body. Blood sprays from her wound, engulfing him in a mad spectacle of violence. A lightning tears through the skies, illuminating the Sanctuary. The Saints yell her name. She falls on the floor, quickly losing her grip on life. The night seems to get even darker. Lance looks at her. He had finally succeded. But he was devastaded. He was crushed. Lance's cloth started giving off a huge shine, the blood on it seemingly vanishing little by little, as if being sucked up by the legendary object that adorned his body. A shine which turned into a wave of light, slowly increasing in intensity until it ofuscated everyone around him. But he didn't noticed. He didn't care...

..

...Athena...

.

_"The longest day of our lives...the last day of Lance's life...the first day of a whole new era..."_

_-_Sagittarius Seiya, about the Final Battle...


	2. Childhood

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

By the way, I realize that the first chaper WAS a little short, but it will get better(hopefuly).

_"The curious thing is...no one really knows what his true origins are...his country, his family, his birth...even his own name was handed to him at the age of 10 by the Sancuary..."_

- Libra Dohko to the Saints of Bronze, regarding Lance's childhood

Chapter 2 - Childhood

40 years earlier...

-"So what's the kid's name, anyway?"- asked Aguilon

-"Lance."- said Kastiel-"Apparentaly, one of our Silver Saint comrades found him in an orphanage in Athens. No actual official birthname is known and it appears that his parents were foreigners who suffered an accident before they could even register the poor kid's name so we're not even sure where does he come from. Even the name, Lance, was given to him by the Silver Saint who found him."

Heracles Aguilon nodded in understanding. The Heracles Saint did, however, silently snorted at the Kerberus Saint's comment on the kid's lack of an actual fixed nationality.

_-"As if that would matter to be a saint_"- he thought.

-"He brought him here and enlisted him saying that he saw potential in him to become a saint"- Kastiel added.

It was Kastiel's turn to snort, as if he found the notion of the child becoming a Saint ridiculous. Aguilon noticed this but didn't care, as the Bronze Saint's lack of faith in Lance wasn't totally unjustified. The kid, not only was a completely random kid, but was also only barely 10 years old, unruly and a loner, often training at a greater pace than the other apprentices and on his own, and seemed to dislike the idea of training to become a Saint for the ideals of the Sanctuary rather than the sheer desire of power and personal gain. This, in Aguilon's book, was not a proper Saint's attribute. The other Saints, seeing this attitude, decided to teach Lance a lesson in modesty by having him transferred to the training grounds in Mount Olympus, where he would train to one day overcome the challenge of the temple of Bellephoron located there within 8 years under the penalty of death, and, as a added punishment, he would not leave that place until he became a full-fledged Saint. Aguilon did not envy him. Mount Olympus wasn't a particularly harsh training ground but the challenge of the temple itself had so far proven to be to much for any clothless apprentice to overcome, regardless of the master. The kid would have to go through a lot, but it was the price of his attitude. The two Saints reached the Sanctuary's entrance, where two soldiers were awaiting with a child that both assumed to be Lance. The kid was wearing clothes provided to him by the sanctuary which included the basic shoulder protections that they supplied to apprentices and the yellow shirt. His hands were engulfed in bandages, leaving out the tip of the fingers to prevent excessive loss of sensibility. He had black hair which reached little beyond his ears and a disgruntled look on his face, as if he was yet to be confortable with his punishment. However, what most brought attention to him were the eyes: even from the distance you could notice the almost abnormal glare of determination from his red eyes. The kid had RED EYES. What was that about? Even though Kastiel was his new master-to-be, he too was surprised, as he had never actually met the kid until now. Kastiel was unable to break the eye contact with the kid for a while until he finally got a hold of himself and asked:

-" Are you Lance?"

-"...Yes."- answered the shy kid

-" My name is Kastiel. I am the Silver Saint of Kerberus and I'll be your master for the remainder of your training under the Sanctuary's protection. Got it?"

-"..Yes.."

-"You will obey me, respect me and answer to me at all times. Do you understand?"

-"Yes."- he said,flatly.

-"Good. Take him."- Kastiel then turned to Aguilon as the two soldiers grabbed Lance's shoulders and take him to the ship that will lead them to their destination-" I'll be leaving now".

-"Good Luck. Hey, what's up with the kid's eyes?"

-"Don't know. Don't really care. And if the kid really wants to train on his own, I'll just teach him the basics and then he can fend off for himself! That way, I might get rid of him sooner than we think."

-"That's cold."

-"Sometimes it's the only way they learn. Plus, it's part of the punishment for me to aid him as little as possible."

-"No strings attached to him?"

-"No strings attached."

-"He,He. Alright then. Just don't complain to me if he becomes some sort of super saint and doesn't give you any credit for it."

-"Ah! As if!"- said Kastiel, also laughing-"Well, I have to take him to his new home and teach him something. I'll see you later."

And Kastiel took off, Aguilon waving at him as the Silver Saint of Cerberus entered the ship with Lance and the two soldiers. Aguilon returned his attention to the Sanctuary. After all, he had his own responsabilities such as finding a suitable student for himself and drilling the Saints of Bronze so he couldn't afford to waste to much time with Kastiel. Aguilon looked one last time at the kid who was being now escorted by Kastiel, who had dismissed the guards, and waged a mental bet with himself that the kid wouldn't survive even the first year.

_"Lance is insane! He is a traitor, a blasphemer and a murderer! I forbid you all to have any contact with him! Disobey me, and you'll get a beating from both him and ME!"_

-20th century Taurus Aldebaran, to the Saints of Bronze, regarding Seiya and Hyoga's suggestion to track down Lance and capture him.


	3. Mount Olympus

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

Also, I DO realize that Lance is a Mary Sue but, please, be comprehensive.

_"It's not like I went through THAT much but...I went through it on my own, by myself, without anyone's help!...And even though it was an important part of my life...I don't miss it one bit!"_

_- _Pegasus Lance to Andromeda Shinta, in Germany, regarding his training in Mount Olympus

Chapter 3- Mount Olympus

Lance was tired. No, he was exhausted. He lost track of for how long he had been training that day but he knew he had been doing it for a while because the sun was already descending in the west and he had been at it since he woke up. Blood stained the bandages around his finger knots and many shattered rocks layed around him. It wasn't enough. He needed to get stronger and faster and he needed to be it for more extended periods of time before getting tired. Kastiel had kept his promise. He taught him the basics of survival, personal training and handling cosmos and then simply left after only two weeks. Well, Lance had been training in that accursed mountain for two YEARS. He didn't need Kastiel anymore and he could sense it: everyday he got stronger, faster and a better fighter. Handling Cosmos was getting easier and easier but he refused to overestimate himself. One day he would pass the temple's test and get out of the mountain but only when he was sure he was prepared. One day, he would become a Saint and then all those endless months of training will have a meaning. His hands hurt. A lot. But, thinking about his goal, Lance convinced himself of breaking just one more rock, hiking the highest peak one more time. Yes. He would get stronger. He would become the strongest no matter what. He would prove himself worthy of the world and one day, maybe one day, he would become a hero...

Later that day, Lance decided to pass through his goal: the temple. It was not located in any of the many peaks of Olympus, rather it was situated somewhere in the middle of the path leading to the top of the highest point of the mountain. It was old and decayed. Outside it looked small and unsuspicious but Lance knew better. Deep inside the temple there was a secret passage to an underground section of the structure. Kastiel told him that it would require the strenght of a man worthy of becoming a saint just to move the rock that conceiled it and it was for good reasons. After all, one couldn't let the mighty treasure which rested inside of it from falling to the wrong hands. Lance thought about it: legend claims that the hero Bellephoron tried to reach the lair of the gods by reaching the peak of Mount Olympus on the back of his mighty steed Pegasus. Zeus,infuriated, caused the Pegasus to make Bellephoron fall from it's back in the midst of the climb and, even though the hero survived, the beast Pegasus was lost forever. The temple was erected to that event. The Temple of Pegasus, guarded by the spirit of Bellephoron, and holding the mighty Bronze Cloth of Pegasus when it lacked an owner. Pegasus Lance. He liked the sound of that. And he would make sure he would make it for real.

Meanwhile, at the Sanctuary...

Kastiel was resting in a bar popular among the saints and the soldiers in the village next to the Sanctuary. The village's function was merely that to support the organization by providing it's military forces with supplies and a place to rest, relax, have fun or even live. After all, live within the Sanctuary was bearable but the Popes of old quickly realized that the Saints and soldiers are more motivated if they are allowed to have some contact with the world they are trying to protect. The world they are sacrificing themselves for. Life was more than just war and training, even for men and women(however few female saints there may be) who are pratically built for battle. Kastiel was such a case, like every other saint out there regardless of rank. He was sitting at the balcony, minding his own drinking when the fellow Silver Saint Sagitta Nam sit next to him, ordering the bartender a drink for himself. Nam's attention then turned to Kastiel, who simply ignored him. Though of the same rank, Kastiel wasn't forced to put up with his comrades when he was out of duty, specially when the one he has to put up with is the ever annoying Nam. The Saggita Saint wasn't really that annoying, but Kastiel simply didn't have it in him at that particular moment. They had been struggling to find new Saints of Gold to protect the Sanctuary, a division of Saints which was reduced to only one, the Gold Saint of Libra, Dohko, but the search for suitable candidates until now had been fruitless at best so he wasn't in a particularly good mood. Nam knew this but decided to talk to him anyway.

-"So...how is it going, Kastiel?- he asked

-"...What do you think?"-he replied, sarcastically

-"Ouch...That bad, huh?"

-"Be just glad that you're stuck with drilling those Bronze Saints,Nam. Aguilon has been driving us all nuts with this search."

-"I see..."

For the past few months, Aguilon made his own personal crusade to find suitable candidates to Saints of Gold, enlisting the other Saints of Silver in his incessant search. Many Saints of Silver aspired to become Saints of Gold, but it required a certain level of power and insight, not to mention complete mastery over the 7th sense and being able to reach the speed of light with ease, attributes that this generation of Saints of Silver, as Aguilon so hypocritally put, just seemed to lack the true saint spirit to gather. Kastiel and Nam were no exception, they also craved for a cloth of Gold, but not so much for the superior rank provided by the cloth as for the honor and pride of the title.

-"But, hey, on a brighter note that student of yours seems to be holding on quite well."-said Nam trying to change the subject.

Kastiel almost choke on his drink.

-"Wait,What?- he asked,incredulous-"You mean he's still alive?"

-"You mean you didn't even knew? Sera patrolled the place and found him training really hard. Apparently, he has grown quite a lot, both in size and power."

Kastiel was genuinely surprised, as he never imagined that the kid would last this long on his own. He didn't even remember the kid's name that well. All he was sure he remembered correctly were his eyes. His red, determined eyes. Kastiel resumed his drinking, no longer interested in these news.

-"Maybe you made a mistake by not recognizing him as your actual student,huh?"- Nam asked, teasing the Silver Saint.

Kastiel stood silent, finishing his drink.

-"I see..."- added Nam-"So you simply don't care,huh?"

-"Nope!"- Kastiel said, now standing up, wiping his mouth with his hand and preparing to leave-" Not at all. I got nothing against the kid besides the trouble he made me go through and, honestly, I wish him the best of luck,... but I got better things to do".

Kastiel walked towards the bar's door.

-"Your treat, right?"- he said, as he left the bar.

Nam looked at the door Kastiel had just exited from and then looked at the aged bartender, who was growing impatient.

-"Yeah...my treat..."-Nam said, sighing, before paying the drinks.

Later that night, back on Mount Olympus...

Lance entered the small,old,abandoned stone house which had served as his home ever since got there along with had no windows and only a single door which was tightly shut to protect the inside from the cold air of the mountain, specially at night (Lance always hated the cold...). He had brought supplies from the nearby village in the foot of the mountain and he prepared his meal. Lance sighed as he cooked the various ingredients, doing his best in the "kitchen" Kastiel had him build. He had grown accostumed to being alone, the only potential company being the villagers who supported him with supplies, given to him under orders from the Sanctuary. Lance would meet the occasional hiker or curious villager whithin the mountains but he never picked up any fight, aside the occasional skirmish with criminals or arrogant villagers who thought that they could beat him up. Lance ate his meal in peace and quite, with only one thing on his mind: the Pegasus Bronze Cloth. He would bring it back to the Sanctuary, and then he would be free from it's authority. Having finished his meal, Lance went to his poorly made bed and fell asleep, dreaming of the day he would leave the temple wearing the Bronze Cloth...

_"Try your best! Never let anything disencourage you and always give your all! If you do that, then, even if you fail, then you'll have no regrets!But...always make sure you make no mistakes. Don't underestimate, don't postpone, don't fear and don't hesitate. Work for the best possible outcome, and you'll get it!"_

-Lance, advising a young Leo Aiolia, 5 years before the "Big Clash"


	4. The Pegasus Cloth

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

Chapter 4- The Pegasus Cloth

_"The first person I killed...well, technically, it was Bellephoron, so it doesn't really count but,...I guess it was this Black Saint with whom I fought in my first mission...so what I'm trying to say is...I get it, Shinta... I understand why you're so sad...because no matter how much trouble that guy caused... it changed me, and sometimes I which I had never... Damn! I don't know what to tell you...But you can count on me,Shinta... Pour all your troubles, all your fears and griefs on me...Because I can take it! I can't take it seeing you like this, but I can take what you're going through... because you should never have to...Because someone like you should never have to go through this! Because someone like you should never have to kill!"_

-Lance, conforting a crying Shinta, after the death of the specter Bennu Yakos at the hands of the Andromeda Saint

4 years later...

Lance was now 16 years old. He had been on that mountain training and fending for himself for 6 years now. And he was ready. He finally felt ready. Knowing the passages within the mountain by heart, Lance quickly made his way from the shack that had been his home for the past few years to the temple, a lit torch in his hand. Patient, yet anxious. Confident, yet unsure of what awaited him. He crossed the rocky terrain towards the decayed building, hoping it would be the last time he would have to do so, and, before he even knew it, he stood before the entrance of the building that resembled more a shrine than an actual temple. The interior was dark, lacking illumination, pillars stood on each side of the doorless passage, covered in vines and supporting the structure. Lance still remembered the great temples of the Gold Zodiac, as he had a chance to see them before his punishment, and the Pegasus temple resembled them in the design but it was much smaller, both in size and magnificence, and it's interior ran deep inside the mountain, as it was built on the montain's side rather than in one of the peaks. It was night. It was so because Lance didn't want any villager or hiker to catch him inside opening the secret passage and also because Lance felt far too impatient to wait for the morning. He had grown a lot: standing six feet tall and with a body tempered for battle, Lance had little resemblance with the small child that was found in the Athenian orphanage. He retained his red eyes(as if he had a choice) and his hair grew longer, though it still only reached his shoulders. If those who met him as a kid saw him now they would notice that he seemed more mature, standing up straight and looking people in the eyes in contrast with the shy, unruly kid who was sent there pratically to die. Lance looked one last time at the great mountain in which he had spent almost half of his life in, trying to think of anything he would miss besides the pretty mountain sights before he abandoned it completely. Unable to think of anything at all, Lance made his way inside the temple, illuminating it's insides for the first time in many years.

The temple was simple and small, which was why the word "shrine" would fit much better in it's description. To the common eyes, the interior consisted simply of a corridor leading deep inside the mountain, it's walls with little to no inscriptions compared to other greek temples aside from the occasional unlit torch holders. Without his own torch, it would be impossible for Lance to see anything inside the dark corridor, which is why he took the time to lit the oil-soaked torches inside the temple with his own, should it be suddenly put out. Eventually the corridor ended and stairs emerged, descending on the ground and leading to the shrine. The room with the shrine was also small. It was quadratic, with a single torch in each wall which Lance lit on fire, and the shrine itself consisted in a platform in the middle of the room with a large Pegasus statue on top. Lance placed his torch on the last holder, which was unoccupied, and stood before the platform, crackling his knunkles. He then placed both his hands on the platform and started pushing. The platform, however, did not move. Lance smirked, already expecting this, and tried again, only harder. The platform did not move.

-"Alright,then"-he said to himself,still smirking-" I think I know what do you want from me."

Lance started pushing again, though this time, his whole body started radiating a blue aura of cosmos. The platform moved an inch...Lance pushed harder, his aura growing larger. The platform moved even more. With one final push, Lance pushed the platform completely against the wall, revealing the floor beneath it, which was actually stairs leading to a secret underground floor. Satisfied with himself, Lance picked up his torch and went down the stairs which led to yet another corridor whose end was covered in darkness. Lance marched, relentless, litting every torch he found, illuminating his path as he reached the end of the corridor, which revealed a very large room. All of a sudden, all the unlit torches in the said room were engulfed in flames, a if some strange magic had lit them, as soon as Lance stepped inside. At the end of the room there were more stairs. However, these stairs did not lead to another room. Instead, they lead to the top of a large platform in which stood a box. A grey, quadratic box with the image of a Pegasus engraved in each of it's faces. Seeing it, Lance instantly recognized i for what it was: the Pegasus Cloth box. A warm feeling filled his guts. There it was. His prize. His reward. Everything for what he had been working for for the last 6 years. He took a step forward but then he remembered Kastiel's words before he left:

" Don't kid yourself, Lance. Even IF you do survive the training and get strong enough to move the statue, you'll still have to pass the temple's challenge, something that no one who was yet to gain his first cloth has ever managed to do it alone...So you might as well just give up!"

A challenge... Kastiel never told him what it was... Did he have to solve a riddle? Fight someone? Prove his determination and morals? Well, just standing there wouldn't help. Lance resume his marching when, suddenly, a voice was heard:

-_"WHO GOES THERE?"_

Lance stopped, immediatly assuming a fighting pose. The voice seemed to echoe throughout and from the entire temple, making it impossible to pinpoint the source. It was deep and clear and it had genuinaly frightened Lance, who remained silent. The teenager looked around him but saw nothing. Only the altar, the walls and the pillars which prevented the place from collapsing under the mountain's weight.

-_"WHO ARE YOU?"- _asked the voice, though apparently not impatient...

This time, lance decided to answer:

-" I could ask you the same thing!"

There was a moment of silence...

-"...My name is Lance..."- he resumed-" And I'm here for the Pegasus Bronze Cloth."

-_"I SEE..."- _said the voice- " _AND TELL ME..."_

Suddenly, a white cosmos appeared out of nowhere before the altar stairs. It started gathering around itself, as if trying to form something. Lance was surprised but didn't let his guard down.

- _"... WHAT MAKES YOU THINK..."_

More and more cosmos appeared and then it started taking a humanoid shape. Lance now realized what the test was...Slowly, the image of a man emerged. He had blond hair which reached his shoulders and his upper body was naked aside from his right shoulder which had a protection tied to it. He had silver colored greaves and crotch protection and his legs were covered by blue trousers tied by these.

-"...that you deserve it...?"- his voiced, no longer echoing, now came from the image, which seemed more and more solid by the second.

Lance did not answer, simply focusing on planning his next course of action.

-"Ahh...the strong,silent type, huh?- resumed the spirit-" I've beaten many saint apprentices like you in the past. What makes you think you're so special? Is your master THAT good?"

-"...I have no master. Cerberus Kastiel taught me the basics of fighting and surviving and then left me here. My strenght... I deserved it under my own efforts, not his!"

-"He He He...I see. But you won't beat me,kid. Do you know who I am?"- the spirit, now looking completely material, assumeded a fighting pose-" I am the great Bellephoron, the guardian of the Pegasus cloth. Every Saint of Pegasus has to defeat me before getting heir hands on the cloth. And I haven't been defeated in over 200 years. And even though you're about the same age as that kid Tenma, it will be a cold day in Hell before I let you break my record."

Tenma? He must be the last man who defeated this guy and became the Saint of Pegasus. But it didn't matter. He had to focus on the fight! The two fighters slowly and carefully approached eachother, studying eachother. Bellephoron was larger than Lance, but he had prepared himself for just about any fair circunstances. He wasn't exactly skilled...In fact he had never received any kind of formal fighting techniques lesson. But all those years of training and fighting criminals and intruders had to count for something. Also, Lance already had a few skirmishes with some apprentices who thought that could replace him so he had _SOME_ preparation... The two were now in front of eachother, their hands in front of them as if about to engage themselves in a power struggle, ready to deliver or block any blow. For a moment they stopped, looking at and analyzing eachother. Cosmic auras started flowing from both of them. Lance's blue aura and Bellephoren's white aura towering above them, as if competing to see wich one reached the highest. The guardian smirked and decided to make his move. taking advanted of his size and lack of distance between them, Bellephoron attempted to punch Lance with his right hand. Just as the punch was about to collide with Lance's face, the youth's left hand grabbed it. Both gritted their teeth in effort, trying to beat the other. Bellephoron tried again with his other fist, only for Lance to also catch it with his right hand. They suddenly found themselves in a power struggle, gritting their teeth, their muscles bulging, Belephoron now realized that he had underestimated the kid as he started employing more and more effort and Lance countered it with more and more strenght in his hold. Suddenly, Lance pulled the guardian's hands towards himself and brought his right knee up, hitting the guardian with a powerful knee blow to the gut. Lance it him again with the other knee before letting go of the guardian's hands so that he could deliver a powerful punch to Bellephoron's face which forced the spirit to take a few steps back to keep his balance and cover his bloody nose with his hand. Lance didn't give him a chance to recover. Taking advantage of the newfound distance between them, Lance dashed towards Bellephoron, hitting his chest with a powerful right elbow strike. Lance then spinned around himself counter-clockwise, hitting Belephoron's cheek with the other elbow. This time, while the guardian was taken aback by the blow, he recovered quickly and attempted to bash Lance with a back-hand blow. Lance, however, saw this coming just in time and ducked, filling the air being dragged by the arm's movement above him, imagining how much THAT would have hurt. Bellephoron then noticed Lance's crouched position and, as the teenager tried to get up again, was able to trip him with his right leg. Lance suddenly found himself falling to his side and didn't waste any time. As he fell, Lance placed his hand on the floor, stopping the descent. Then, while supporting his entire weight with that hand, Lance brought his legs up with astonishing speed, hitting Belleporon's chin with a direct kick with the base of his feet, which, to the guardian, it felt like something just exploded in his jaw. This time, Bellephoron had to take several steps back due to the impact of the attack and Lance used the opening to, while still supporting his body with his right hand, backflip and gain some distance from the spirit so that he too could recover. Landing several meters away from Bellephoron, Lance panted due to the adrenaline of the skirmish and studied the state of his opponent, who was rubbing his chin. His nose was still bleeding so the hand was now soaked in red. But what really pleased Lance was the look on Bellephoron's eyes: he was shocked, perhaps even frightened. His confident smirk had disappeared and he looked for the first time to be actually taking Lance seriously.

"...Hey...not bad..."- he said, his voice with a hint of anger.

He cleaned the blood off his nose and added:

- "Actually... you're the most interesting challenge I have had in decades. But...IT'S GONNA TAKE MORE THAN THAT IF YOU WANT TO BEAT ME!"

Bellephoron growled and charged at Lance. Seeing the larger warrior running towards him scared Lance for an instant, an instant which Bellephoron used to increase his pace and hit Lance with a huge tackle which sent him flying towards the wall next to the corridor's entrance. Lance collided with the stone wall which , being as old as it was, collapsed under Lance's weight on the floor. Lance was trying to get up when his shouders where then grabbed by large hands which picked him up in the air. One of the hands let go of him only to then collide with his stomach. Lance screamed in pain. The other hand dropped him on the floor and Lance fell to his knees with the huge pain in his guts. Blood came out of his mouth before a greaved foot hit his left cheek with such force that his whole body was thrown towards the floor at his right. Lance was facing the floor, blood filling his mouth, when he suddenly remembered that he had to react. He had to do something before the spirit could hit him again. His opponent tried to pin him on the floor by stepping on his back but Lance rolled to his left, towards the middle of the room. Lance rolled a few more times to get as much distance as possible from the greek hero and finally managed to get up only to see a huge right fist flying towards his face. Lance only barely managed to duck and counter with a powerful punch with all the strenght he could summon at the time to his opponent chest. The impact was tremendous. Amplified by the speed of Bellephoron's body movement, the punch caused the spirit enourmous damage and pain. A huge amount of blood suddenly came out of Bellephoron's mouth, soaking Lance's back. Lance's fist broke contact with the spirit's "body", but before he could do anything to resume his attack, hands suddenly closed on Lance's back and his body was erect in the air. The large arms started tightening around him, threatening to crush his bones. Suddenly, a great amount of pressure started squeezing him, and Lance screamed in pain, locked by the bear hug.

_-"...How could I have let myself_...?"- he thought before having to screaming again.

Bellephoron laughed as he applied more and more pressure and Lance screamed with greater and greater intensity. There was no getting out of this. The kid would be defeated here. Lance, too, thought that that was it. He was in enourmous pain and the room seemed to have gotten darker. The spirit suddenly aplied all of his strenght into the hug and Lance screamed at the top of his lungs. He knew what was happening. He was losing his senses and his bones were starting to break under the stress. His vision was about to go away when he made his decision. It was going to hurt like hell, but it might just work. Opening his eyes as much as he still could, Lance saw Bellephoron looking at him, teeth gritted, smiling. Lance then also smirked. His opponent didn't have time to notice this before Lance's headbut hit him in the nose, damaging it further. Bellephoron yelled in pain, but Lance didn't get away from it lightly...

_-"THAT...HURT...LIKE...HELL!"-_they both thought to themselves.

Lance brought his now bloody forehead to Bellephoron's nose once again, gritting his teeth in pain from both the headbut and the bear hug. But he felt it. The hug was getting weaker! One more well placed strike and he might just make it. Lance collided his head once again with his opponent's face, more specifically his mouth. It was Bellephoron's turn to scream as he let go of the hold and brought his hands to his bloody mouth. Lance fell on the floor and, gathering the little strenght he had left, jumped away from the spirit. Lance knew that this was it. It was now or never. he had to finish off his opponent NOW. Bellephoron returned his attention to Lance to see the youth focusing his cosmos to the max. A huge aura of cosmos enveloped his body and he was placing himself in a fighting pose, waving his hands in the air... Bellephoron didn't waste any time and prepared himself to charge towards Lance when, suddenly, he saw it. The image of the Pegasus constellation being formed by his hands movement. Angered, Bellephoron decides to take action before it's too late...

-"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"- he yelled.

-"PEGASUS...CHARGE FIST!"- he heard.

Before he could even make the first step towards the blasted kid, Bellephoron was hit by such a tremendous force in the chest that he dragged along the entire room and was pinned against the wall, which crumbled behind him. The spirit looked down to see none other than Lance with his fist lodged in his torso. Only a single punch had hit him, but it packed so much strenght that it was all that it was needed. As Lance took a step back, his fist no longer pinning the sipirit to the crumpled wall, Bellephoron fell to the ground in desbelief and exhaustion. Lance was panting heavily, but he had won...

-"...This speed..."-muttered the spirit-"...it...can't be...!"

Bellephoron closed his eyes,exhausted. Slowly, as Lance watched, his body started desintegrating into the cosmos that had formed him. Lance stood there, watching the spot from where he vanished, for a while, panting and tired. This technique...the Charge Fist... he had devised it when he learned to use his cosmos to amplify his strenght and speed. Essencially, all the cosmos put into it was spent in generating acceleration rather than sheer strenght. The result was a charging movement that could reach speeds much greater than sound in a extremely small amount of time. In fact, it reached the peak of it's speed in less than an instant. Therefore, all the power of the single punch he delivered came from it's enourmous speed rather than it's brute strenght. The problem was, when the punch reached speeds greater than those his reflexes could handle, he would be unable to stop the attack or change it's direction in the midst of it. The upside is, should he reach greater speeds than those that the reflexes of the target could handle, it would be impossible for them to dodge or block the blow without an enourmous amount of luck or by accident. Lance took the bandages off his right fist and saw his finger knots reddened by the damage caused by the attack on his own hand. With time and practice, that flaw would be completely eliminated but for now it was good enough. Then, as if he was sleeping and suddenly woke up, the magnitude of his feat fell upon him. He had won! He had actually won! Lance sit on the ground, both hands running through his forehead and then through his hair, trying to soak it all in... All those years, all that effort, it had been worth it! GODDAMMIT, HE HAD WON! Lance smirked. The smirk turned into a faint giggle and then to a laugh. A laugh that increased in volume as Lance let his head rest on the floor. His hands banging the floor beneath him in sheer amusement. Lance kept on laughing for almost a minute. But then he started to calm soon as he got a hold of himself. Lance got up, still smirking, and looked at the altar. The box layed there. Almost awaiting him. Lance walked torwards it. He reached the stairs. He climbed them. He reached the top. Lance stood still. Only about a meter from it. Looking at it. Suddenly, to Lance's surprise, beams of light started coming from inside as it slowly opened it's lid little by little. The box then opened completely, revealing the Pegasus Cloth in it's rest form, Suddenly it dismantled, it's parts flying around Lance. One-by-one, the pieces started donning themselves to Lance's body. First the greaves, then the gauntlets, the shoulder,chest and crotch protections and finally the helmet. It was done. He was a Saint of Bronze. He was Pegasus Lance! Lance felt his cosmos being amplified by the cloth. His every battle atribute being brought to new heights, to a whole new level. The cloth was heavier than he thought but it didn't matter. He was sure he would get used to it. Lance closed his fists. He charged his cosmos to the max and was nearly blown away by the strenght he had acquired upon reaching his peak. Lance released a huge way of cosmos which illuminated the entire temple out of sheer joy...out of sheer satisfaction. It was done...He had won...

Lance left the temple, the Pegasus Cloth box on his back, the Pegasus Cloth inside, gazing at the incredible spectacle of nightly beauty provided the mountain. What now? What would he do? Kastiel never bothered to tell him what should he do after acquiring the cloth. Truth be told, Lance didn't have any fixed goal. Should he return to the Sanctuary? He resented the place but he knew that getting on it's bad side by misusing the cloth was not the best idea. Thinking about this, Lance immediatly realized what he wanted. He wanted to be free.. to be free from the Sanctuary and it's laws...But he also would not forsake the cloth he had worked so hard to conquer. But being ordered around by the higher ranking Saints, or worse, Kastiel, did not bode well with him. No... if he wanted to be free to use his power, he would have to get stronger... he would have to get powerful, both in power and ranking. Lance then thought of the Gold Zodiac and those who protect it. The title of Saint of Gold was the highest distinction among the saints aside from the title of the Pope himself. They were only 12. But they were the best. They could do anything they wanted, only taking orders from the Pope and Athena herself. Lance knew what he had to . To be free. He had to become...a Saint of Gold...

_"In the old days it used to be really hard...I couldn't afford to make any mistakes for they could get me killed and I remember that every hard hit I took made me think that anything was better than fighting...for a few moments at least. I guess it has become a part of me, now. I can't live without it, even though I might hate it! I can't...STOP FIGHTING!"_

-Lance to Andromeda Shun, when asked about his opinion of fighting and war.


	5. The Great Tournament

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

Yay. I finished my first actual battle. Once again, please comment. I'm serious. Good or bad I'm ready to take it. This chapter is a big one. Like I promised the word count is increasing:)

_"-Why did you do it, Lance? What did you hope to accomplish?_

_-Freedom..."_

- conversation between Pegasus Lance and the Cepheus Silver Saint, Shinta's master, after taking back the Andromeda island from the Specters

Chapter 5- The Great Tournament

Two years later...

Cerberus Kastiel marched through the streets of the Sanctuary's town, heading towards the Colliseum. He was angry. He was infuriated. He still could not believe ...that KID... how dare he! First he humiliated him two years before in front of the entire Bronze Saint Division, then he renounced his authority and simply left the Sanctuary to go on "assignments" against Black Saints and the such, pratically declaring that he wanted as much distance from him and the Sanctuary as possible, once again going off to train on his own and do whatever he pleased (which wouldn't be so irritating if the Sanctuary hadn't announced his behaviour "technically" legal since the missions were performed in the service of the organization) and now... now he had the audacity to believe... to believe that he actually could become a Saint of Gold! A title many men before him struggled all their lives to achieve and failed. And, on top of it all, the kid was now exercising that belief as Kastiel walked towards his destination...

The announcement had be made two weeks before. Basically, they would be holding a competition, a tournament, in the Colliseum among the Saints of Bronze. The purpose was a promotion: they would pass down the Centaur Silver Cloth, which now lacked an owner, to the greatest among them. At first, Kastiel thought it would be an interesting event to pass the time and win a new comrade in his rank. But then he found it, among the list of names of the 8 Saints of Bronze that were admitted into the tournament... Pegasus Lance! Seeing that name in the list caused his blood to boil in anger. Things were bad enough as they were and now there was a chance that that arrogant kid woud be in the same rank as his own... He still remembered it...that day... the day when Lance came back to the Sanctuary...

Two years earlier...

Cerberus Kastiel was bored. Drilling Saints of Bronze wasn't exactly the most entertaing of activities. While Aguilon was out there being declared a "hero" and "leader of the Saints of Silver", he was stuck in the Colliseum training "recruits". He would be a hero too if instead of hanging around in the sanctuary he was fighting rogue spectre factions and... Suddenly, Sagitta Nam appeared in the Colliseum, running towards him.

-" KASTIEL!- he yelled

Nam stopped next to him, panting.

-" You're never going to believe this!"- he added, gaining his breath back.

-"What? Can't you see I'm busy?"- Kastiel pointed at the many Bronze Saints behind him who were engaged in all sorts of exercises and sparrings.

-" Well... you're never gonna guess who's your new recruit!"

Kastiel simply stared at Nam, trying to figure out just what was he talking about. Nam pointed at the entrance of the Colliseum and that's when he saw it. At the distance, he could see the image of a man entering the colliseum, a cloth box in his back. The man got closer and closer, and Kastiel now could distinguish some traits: he had black air which reached his shoulders, bandages enveloping his hands, pulses and a from there a little of his arms , leaving the fingers in the open, and was wearing a red, sleeveless shirt and blue pants.

-" What's about this guy that got Nam so worked up?"- he wondered in is own thoughts.

The man got closer, now only about 10 meters away. Then 5 meters. Suddenly they stood only a few steps apart. That's when he noticed them. The eyes...their irises were red circles around the deep, black center. He hadn't seen eyes like that since...since...NO WAY! NO FREAKING WAY! IT COULDN'T BE!

-"...Lance?"- he mutured, incredulous.

-" Pegasus Lance now."- he said as coldly and emotionlessly as Kastiel remembered him talking.

He changed...he changed a lot... He was a lot taller, his hair had grown and he looked more... tempered. Like he had been through war and got used to the slaughter... The determination in his eyes was now sharp and controlled instead of the rebellious one he noticed on them 6 years earlier. He looked more...mature. He looked like an adult really, both physically and mentally,... when he should be just about 16 years old. The heavy box was held in his back, straps holding it on his shoulders like a backpack, but it's weight didn't seem to bother him at all, as he walked around like it wasn't even on his back.

-" When...when did you...?- he tried to ask

-"Three days ago."-Lance answered,flatly-"I decided to return to the Sanctuary to wrap things up."

Three days ago? And he has gotten used to the cloth's weight by now? Kastiel remembered seeing Bronze Saints still complaing after a week, sometimes simply wearing the cloth at all times and leaving the box in their quarters. He must have returned for further training if he was going to be his new recruit. Maybe it has finally gotten to his head that he was now a soldier of the Sanctuary. Maybe he had grown a lot more than he thought. After all, he didn't even expect him to survive the training, much less actually beat the temple's challenge and obtain the cloth. Kastiel suddenly noticed that more people, though only a few soldiers and low-level Saints, were at the entrance of the Colliseum as if hey had been following Lance to make sure it was really him... Kastiel looked at Lance and then at his cloth, and didn't know what to feel: pride or humiliation. He was technically his student but the facts were that he had spent as little effort and time on him as possible, having no faith at all in his success. he could feel pride that his least supported student was so successful but he could also look like a fool in front of all those people for being such a poor judge of character. Lance himself smiled. Not a smile of happiness but more like a "I told you so!" smug on his face. Kastiel decided to break the silence:

-"...So you've come here to train, huh? Don't think I'll go easy on yo-"

-" I'm not here to do that."- he quickly interrupted.

Kastiel at first looked at him,confused. His voice was strong, decisive and relentless. He was nothing like the shy kid he met 6 years ago who had trouble forming words from his mouth. Kastiel's confused look turned into a smirk;

- "Oh, yeah? Then what else could you be doing here? I've been told that you wanted to see me so it must be for training, right?"

Lance turned his sharp look at Nam, who staggered a little upon making eye contact with him, as if the Silver Saint had just spreaded some unfounded rumour about him. He then looked back at Kastiel, who had noticed Nam's sudden scare but payed it no mind. After all, Nam wasn't exactly the bravest or strongest Silver Saint, either physically or mentally. As a matter of fact, Kastiel often wondered how the man ever became a Saint of Silver...

-"I've told you already."- said Lance, his voice still calm-" I'm here to wrap things up, not to train,...at least under you."

Kastiel wasn't sure he heard right...At least not under HIM? What the hell did he meant by that? Some of the Saints of Bronze were already turning their attention to the conversation. Nam took a step back, feeling the sudden tension before the two, while the small crowd at the entrance, in contrast, took a few curious steps forward...

-...You sure that's the best way to adress your master?- Kastiel asked.

Lance suddenly burst into laughter, breaking the stoic facade he had mantained until know. Now all the Saints of Bronze were looking at them, interrupting their drill.

-"HA,HA,HA,HA,ha,ha-Lanced seemed to be getting a hold of himself- Hm,Hm...Are you...Are you sure that...hm,hm,...I should adress you as a master at all?"

Neither Nam nor Kastiel, or anyone around for a fact, could believe what they had just heard. Lance was actually challenging his authority! After the surprise faded, Kastiel started to get really angry:

-" What's your point, Bronze Saint?"- he asked, his smirk transformed into a glare of indignation.

Lance was still giggling a little.

-"He,he...My point is..."- Lance's serious look returned to his face-"...that I doubt that the help you gave me could classify you as my master. The strenght I obtained... I don't owe it to anyone...So I've come here to wrap things up!"

Lance placed himself in his fighting pose, his left side and both palms facing Kastiel. His right hand was placed in front of his chest and his left placed between Kastiel and himself, prepared to block attacks. His legs were slightly flexed, as if he was preparing to jump. Kastiel could't believe it. Was he serious? He wasn't even puting the Cloth's box on the ground... Fine! If the kid wanted a fight, he would have it. and he would make sure he would regret it. The crowd and the Saints of Bronze started taking seats in the Colliseum, allowing them to fight freely. Kastiel noticed this and laughed:

-" Looks like I'll get to teach you a lesson in front of all of these guys, huh?- he provoked.

Lance didn't answer. Instead, as if accepting the circunstances, he let go of his pose and walked towards the left side of the arena.

-"Come on."- he said to Kastiel,serious-" Let's make it official while were at it."

Kastiel smirked and accepted the invitation. As soon as he placed himself in the left side of the arena, facing Lance, the Saint of Bronze assumed his fighing pose once again. Kastiel took his time to analyze Lance. His pose was almost flawless, effectively combining attack and defense, and he looked strong. Really strong. Kastiel had a pretty good idea of what the minimum power level recquired to beat Bellephoron in open combat was so he knew Lance was already a full-fledged fighter... But to actually think that he could beat him, a Saint of Silver. Even though Kastiel wasn't wearing his Silver cloth, which was only a few meters away now being guarded by Nam, Saints of Silver were masters of combat! "At least most of them" he thought as he remembered Nam. Wait! What the hell! The guy was still with the box on his back. Was he stupid? Aside from the added weight, there was the possibility that the box's straps could hinder his flexibility. Sighing, Kastiel decides to throw him a bone:

-"You sure you don't want to wear that cloth instead of carrying it?"

Lance seemed surprised for an instant:

-"Huh? OH,wait, that."- Lance took off the box and placed it just outside the arena-"I almost forgot about ,ha..."

Kastiel sweatdropped. Lance then reentered the arena and re-reassumed his fighting pose.

-" I was gonna use it as a added weight..."- he continued-" ...you know, to give you a chance. But if that's the way you want it..."

Kastiel almost growled.  
-"WHAT?"- he thought-"The blasted kid. I'm gonna KILL HIM!"

Nam was visibly impressed by the kid. He managed to provoke Kastiel's anger. The Silver Saint would now make mistakes. But even with no cloths envolved, there was no way he could beat Kastiel...was there? Nam looked at Lance. The guy was smirking, obviously satisfied with his own successful provocation. The look on his eyes sent a shiver down his spine. Their red irises already freaked him out enough, but the unwavering attitude he had... it was like he was sure he could beat Kastiel... The arena wasn't that big so they were only a few meters away from eachother. The crowd watched with curiosity and Nam overheard some of them behind him already waging how long Lance would last. The Cerberus Silver Cloth box stood by his feet, ready to emerge should it's master need it. Nam himself was wearing his Sagitta Silver Cloth but he would not interfere. After all, even IF Kastiel lost, it would do him only good...

Lance,without breaking his stance, dragged his feet forward a little, shortening the distance between them by a few taunting inches.

-"Well..."- he said-"...what are you waiting for...?"

Kastiel, realizing that Lance was trying to provoke him, decided to relax and play his game. Kastiel started focusing his cosmos. He wanted him to attack him? Alright then. But with everything he had. Kastiel's cosmic aura started emerging from his body, flowing around his whole body was being incinerated by a blue flame. Suddenly, his aura's size increased exponentially, sending air currents in all directions, some colliding with Lance, causing his body to budge slightly with it's sheer force. With a sudden yell, Kastiel brought to the surface all the cosmos inside of him, reaching his peak and sending yet again air currents which almost pushed back the weakest spectators. Panting a little, though almost instantly regaining his breath, Kastiel returned his attention to Lance and smirked, content with his display of might. Lance only stared at him for a moment, and then he stood up straight, breaking his pose. Kastiel smiled.

-"Ready to give up, are we?"- he asked

Lance's blasted smug returned to his face:

-" Actually,no!"

-"What?"- Kastiel almost yelled

-"In fact, I think I'm gonna fight as I am right now!"

-" You arrogant fool! But don't worry, I'll teach you a lesson in manners... and in LIFE!"

Lance only smirked, a blue flamish aura now emerging from him as well.

-" His THAT all you've got?- said Kastiel, smirking as well.

-"...If you think you can beat me...- said Lance, once again serious-"...go right ahead..."

-"...you talk too much..."

Kastiel dashed towards Lance, prepared to engage him in close combat. He already had his whole strategy planned. How he would attack. How would he react. How he would counter. Years of combat have prepared him for these situations... and he was going to show Lance the difference between a newbie Saint of Bronze and a full-fledged Saint of Silver. Kastiel reached Lance and his right fist launched itself forward. But that was a feint: as soon as Lance left hand tried to block it, Kastiel stopped the punched just before it reached Lance's left palm and, spinning around himself 360 , with the same hand, Kastiel delivered a fast side chop which moved Lance's left arm out of his way. Before the young Saint could react, Kastiel used the force of his spin to deliver a powerful fist to Lance's face. However, Lance's right hand got in the way and Kastiel's punch hit his palm instead which closed around his hand, holding it still. Kastiel, however, quickly broke free of the hold and, taking advantage of their nearly identical height, headbutted Lance, who took a few steps back with the pain. Kastiel felt pain too, but much less than Lance. "I've got him now" he thought before jumping towards Lance to deliver a powerful side kick to his head in mid air. All of a sudden, Kastiel felt Lance's cosmos almost exploding, revealing it's true level, and his leg met Lance's arm which easily resisted the impact,blood running down his hurt forehead.

_-" Dammit!"- _Kastiel thought_-" He tricked me!"_

Lance smirked, knowing he caught Kastiel off guard and, with his real strenght, as soon as Kastiel landed on the floor, the young Saint dashed forward and his elbow collided with Kastiel's jaw. Lance didn't give Kastiel a chance and immediatly resumed his attack by having the base of his foot hit his guts, sending Kastiel a few feets back.

-" What's the matter?"- Lance provocked-" I thought you were gonna teach me a lesson!"

Kastiel, hands in his gut, gave Lance a murderous glare and attempted to punch him. His fist, however, was caught by Lance's hand and this time, with Lance employing his real strenght, Kastiel was unable to break free. Kastiel immediatly attemted to hit Lance with a knee blow but, before he could even raised his leg high enough, Lance raised his own with astonishing speed, delivering an impressive kick to Kastiel's jaw. This time, Kastiel's whole body was sent flying backwards to the ground, landing several meters away from Lance.

_-" All that flexibilty training finally paid off!"- _Lance thought as he lowered his leg, smirking.

The entire crowd was shocked with the display. Kastiel was a strong, respected Silver Saint and he was getting beaten up by a Bronze Saint. Even with the absence of the cloth's advantage, this was inconceivable. Kastiel was being HUMILIATED! Nam stood there, his mouth opened in awe. Was he seeing right? He couldn't be! Lance's cosmos actually surpassed that of Kastiel's. Lance smiled, and Nam knew why. He had already won. He has gotten to Kastiel's headd and used his full power in the right moment: when Kastiel risked it all with that finishing side kick. he knew Kastiel was still OK. He still had a lot of fight left in him. But continuing the fight would be pointless. Lance was clearly determined to make no mistake, to give everything he had, to not underestimate anyone. Nam realized the source of the determination in Lance's eyes: he was aiming for something. Something BIG. He had some sort of ambition that was driving him. He wasn't sure what it was but he hoped it wasn't something against them...But what was he hoping to accomplish by beating the crap out of Kastiel? Some sort of revenge? All of the sudden, the Cerberus Cloth box open up completely by his side, revealing the large Silver Cloth in all of it's splendor. Everyone looked at the Cloth. Who couldn't? The sheer light from the box was attracting everyone's attention. Everyone's attention except that of Kastiel, who was getting up. Lance returned his attention to his pseudo-master, who was smiling almost evilly.

_-"Wait!"-_thought Lance- _"He's not gonna...?"_

The Silver Cloth dismantled itself and flew through the air, donning itself on Kastiel's body. His whole aura was amplified and a new glare of confidence filled his eyes. Lance only had a split second to jump away before a chained mace crashed on the floor in which he was standind in. Lance looked at the size of the spiked ball, visibly frightened, thanking his fast reflexes. He had to do something...and quick...

-" TAKE THIS!"- yelled the Silver Saint who jumped into the air, holding in each hand a chained mace.

Suddenly, he thrust both his hands forward, unleashing what looked like a meteor shower of chained spiked balls.

_-"CRAP!"- _thought Lance

The young Saint jumped away just in time before the area in which he was standing was completely trashed.

-" So it's gonna be like that, huh?"- he asked as he landed on the ground behind him-" Well, two can play that game! GYAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Lance charged his cosmos to the max and, as he reached his peak, the Pegasus cloth emerged from his box and donned itself on Lance. The Pegasus Saint felt the surge of energy flowing through his whole body as Kastiel landed on the floor. Kastiel looked at Pegasus Lance, who was focusing his cosmos, and laughed:

-"HA,HA,HA...You mean...you mean you actually think you can beat me like this"-he said-" You obviously don't realize the difference between your cloth and mine!"

Kastiel was right. His cloth was superior in every way to his own. Things would only get harder now but his cloth would help reduce the difference. That was Lance. He counted every advantage and disadvantage he had. And right now... fighting with a cloth was definately better than with no cloth... even if it wasn't enough to balance it out. He wanted to defeat him in a fair fight. So that he could leave behind the memory of Kastiel. So that he could be free from the fact that, despite his neglect, there was a time, right at the beginning of the training, that he needed and profited from his teachings. The blood on his forehead from Kastiel's headbut ran down his face, going through his nose, then his left cheek and then his chin. He had one last card to play. But he had to play it right. Kastiel started spining one of the chains above him, filling it with his own cosmos. Lance instantly knew what he was doing: his ultimate attack. Cerberus Kastiel was gonna put all of his cosmos into one mace bash. "This is it" thought still spining the mace above him, Kastiel suddenly picked up the other one and threw it at Lance, which seemd to split into many spike ball bombardments meant to distract Lance while the main attack prepares itself. Lance jumped to the left, breaking his fall impact by rolling in the ground. Kastiel saw his opening. Spinning the other mace above one last time, Kastiel launched the cosmos-empowered chained projectile at full strenght towards Lance:

-"KERBERUS HELL BASH!"

Lance got up, but he had no time to dodge, no time to get out of the way. he only had time for one thing...Lance suddenly thrust his hands forward:

-"PEGASUS BARRIER!"- he yelled

-"FOOL!"- yelled Kastiel-" NO BARRIER YOU CAN FORM CAN STOP THIS!"

The projectile suddenly crashed against a transparent wall of cosmos which almost immediatly crashed into several shattered-glass-like pieces which evaporated in thin air. Kastiel laughed, knowing that the projectile would soon crush the insolent boy. Suddenly, before everyone's eyes, the spiked ball suddenly stopped moving and fell to the ground, as if all of it's kinetic energy had just suddenly vanished. The barrier, Lance thought, was unique as it's purpose was to actually break under the pressure of the attacks it withstood rather than resisting them. The barrier would completely absorb the energy of a single attack before crashing down. This allowed Lance to create a cosmic barrier with unique properties with a minimized loss of energy. Using Kastiel's moment of shock, Lance finally unleashes his trump card:

-"PEGASUS CHARGE FIST"- he yelled

To the crowd, Lance's whole body turned into a blur which vanished and reappeared right in front of Kastiel. Kastiel felt a tremendous pain in his chest and blood flying from his gut up to his mouth. Kastiel gathered the little strenght he had left and looked down to see Lance's fist filling a hole in his cloth's chestplate. His Silver Cloth... had been damaged... by a Bronze Saint...the student he renounced... Kastiel fell to his knees, right hand on the floor, left hand in his cloth's chestplate's hole, Lance standing next to him. Suddenly, a powerful kick from Lance hit his left ribs, causing him to fall to his side, chest facing the sky. Lance placed his left foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground. He ran the back of his hand, covered by the gauntlet, through his forehead, cleaning the blood and the sweat on it. There was a moment of silence in which Lance just stood there, panting, obviously tired, locking Kastiel's half-open eyes in a blood-red stare. Lance then brought both his arms to the air, fists clenched, yelling in victory. The whole crowd seemed to break from a trance before they sent a thunderous cheer that was heard from the Pope's Halls. As the deftening cheer went on, Lance looked back at Kastiel one last time before the silver Saint passed out and said to him with a clear, accomplished tone:

-"... I don't owe you anything anymore..."

-"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"- someone commanded with a great, powerful voice

Kastiel didn't have time to see who yelled, before finally falling unconscious. All he saw was everyone's attention being turned to the Colliseum's entrance, including Lance's, and the sudden worry in Lance's eyes. After that it was all darkness.

Kastiel regained his senses later on that day on his bed in his house in the Sanctuary's town. Aguilon was standing next to him, sitting on a chair besides his bed. His own chest was bandaged and it hurt all over.

-"What...what happened...?- Kastiel asked

-" You got your butt kicked that's what"- answered the hero- " and your cloth is under repairs."

A headache caused Kastiel to flinch as he remembered the fight.

-"I can't believe it..."-said Aguilon, smirking

-"What...?- asked Kastiel, who was hurting too much to express his irritance with a loud voice

-" You got beaten up by that kid...BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I...I couldn't believe it when first I heard about it just a few hours ago.

-"...SHUT UP!"

-" He,he,he..sorry...but it's just too goddamn funny! I mean, the irony. The Pope even showed up and everything!

-...What...?

- Yeah, it must have happened after you passed out. Quite a show, they said. His Sanctity stopped the whole shabang and ordered the soldiers to clean everything up, including you. Then he went ahead and gave that kid some speech about right and wrong after demanding to know what was he doing and all. Said Lance would have to go on assignments from now on to see if he learns anything.

-...I see...

- Hey, cheer up! He's your student isn't he, BUHAHAHAHA! You...you should be, you know, proud... for surpassing the master and everything...BUAHAHAHAH!

Kastiel had half a mind of smacking the older Silver Saint's head. Shame he was too weak to do it. How could he...that KID...Kastiel decided to just try to ignore his leader's laughter and sleep. Try to forget about his humiliation...

Two years later...again...

Kastiel entered the Colliseum and saw him... the kid...It had been two years since he last saw him...He was wearing his Pegasus cloth, perhaps for the last time, facing a huge saint of bronze in the final. His hair had grown a little, now reaching a little beyond his shoulders. Everyone who was present in the Sanctuary was now in a seat somewhere in the Colliseum that day. Saints, Soldiers and even recruits, apprentices and even enthusiastic villagers. Even the Pope was present, isolated in his seat among the crowd, his head and hair hidden by the black mask and red helmet. Kastiel's attention turned to the fight and he saw Lance dodging all of his opponent's attacks as if he was toying with him ( and Kastiel imagined he probably was).

_"What are you gonna do Lance?"- _he thought-"_ This guy is far too large for you to take out in a single hit with your Charge Fist."_

Suddenly, as if answering Kastiel's mental question, Pegasus Lance backfliped away from one of his opponent's massive punches, jumped high into the air, and yelled:

-"PEGASUS...FLAME ATTACK!"

Lance punched thin air in the direction of his opponent. Then, from his fist, a large torrent of flames burst from his fist, shaped like a tornado whose eye was located in Lance's hand. As the cosmic flames covered the distance between him and his opponent, the radius of the torrent increased more and more, like a hurricane as it pierces through the air. The adversary was completely engulfed by the flames of cosmos, his large size causing him to take the entire force of the blast head-on. Kastiel could fell the heat of the flames from where he was standing, he could tell how much Lance's power has grown. He was taller now. He had grown a lot. The adversary was puched against the ground which crumbled under the force of the blast. The flames dissipated. The huge saint's body looked more like it had been hit by a huge cosmic blast rather than flames, marked by cuts and bruises rather than actual burns. The crowd cheers. Lance is pronounced a winner. Suddenly, all the anger inside Kastiel vanished. It was just like Lance said. They no longer owed eachother anything. Kastiel now realized that Lance was simply no longer in his league. He was satisfied. He accepted things as they were. Smirking, Kastiel sent a mental farewell to Lance as the Pope slowly descended from the stairs/seats of the Colliseum to deliver Lance his reward, the Centaur Silver Cloth, and left the building, wishing the kid the best of luck...

_"I used to be really proud about what I did that day...Until Dohko-sama opened my eyes, that is. That blasted old dwarf...!But still, I think it was for the best. I regret nothing, for now I don't have to look back and be tormented by the thought that I owe who I am today to anyone but me_."

-Lance, to Cepheus Shinta, 2 years before the "Big Clash"


	6. Upgrade to Silver

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

I'm serious! Please review...Pretty please...?

OCs up until now: Lance ( Pegasus, Kentaurus); Kastiel (Kerberus); Nam(Sagitta); Aguilon(Heracles); only a few more to come for now...

* * *

"_One day you will thank me, Bronze Saint. __One day, you will realize just how childishly you acted today..."  
_

-Pope Shion to a frustraded Lance, as he punished him for his battle with Kerberus Kastiel

* * *

Chapter 6- Upgrade to Silver

Lance felt so proud of himself now. Everything went as smooth as he expected. The Pope stood before him, the crowd watching as his Sanctity placed on the floor between himself and Lance the Centaur Silver Cloth box. Some member of the audience were already leaving while others were still making noise from their seats. Lance looked at the box with anxiousness but then reminded himself of who was handing it to him. Lance turned his attention to the Pope, whose face was hidden by his black mask.

-"Shion-sama...- he said, with respect.

Over the past two years, Lance had learned to value the Sanctuary and it's importance as he fought countless terrorrists, criminals and even evil or simply rogue superhuman fighters such as Black Saints and Specters. He was starting to realize that the Sanctuary kept in check a lot of evil in the world, evil that would have wrecked it completely where not for the action of the Saints of Athena. By association, Lance started respecting the Pope's authority and that of the Saints of superior rank... Lance suspected that Shion had planned this all along by sending him in all those missions... He still wanted to be free from the Sanctuary's authority, but that didn't mean he could't respect it...

-"...Lance.."- said the Pope

_-"Wow..."-_thought Lance, with a mix of pride and surprise- _"He actually remembers my name..."_

He had only have that single conversation (more like a reprehension) with the Pope two years ago. In fact, it was the first and only time they've actually seen eachother, at least until now. All his missions were handed over to him by grunt soldiers acting as messangers, by Silver Saints who were still not afraid of him or by Shinta. Shinta... he must be somewhere in the audience...

-" ...you've grown a lot."- resumed the Pope-" Both inside and outside. I can see that."

-"Thank you, Shion-sama!"

-" I know you now realize the importance of our mission and the role you play on the world as a Saint of Athena...which is why..."

_-" He's going to say it!"-_he thought, the hopeful look on his face betraying his anxiety- _" He's really gonna say it!"_

-"...which is why I declare you Kentaurus Lance, the new Saint of Silver!"

-" YESS!"- Lance yelled, jumping in the air several times in joy, fists clenched in the air-" WHOHOO!"

Shion sweatdropped at Lance's celebration.

-"...Ahem..- he coffed, catching Lance's attention, who remembered his place and settled down with a nervous haste-"...Of course you still have the evaluation match in three days."

It was Lance's turn to sweatdrop, realizing that he must have looked like a fool with his victory jump. The evaluation match... yes, there ws still that to attend...

-".. As you probably already know..."- said Shion-" you will be facing a high ranking Silver Saint in a friendly duel. Victory is neither mandatory nor expected, as the match serves to determine your power level at a greater level of precison to determine your exact rank among your new peers. You will both be fighting with your respective Silver Cloths right from the beginning and Lance..."- the Pope turned his back on him, already walking away- "...DO give your best..."

-" I will, Shion-sama"- said Lance with a still embarrased smile as he saw the exiting crowd opening the way for the Pope.

Lance placed his Pegasus Cloth back in it's box and then placed it on top of the Kentaurus Cloth box. Then, placing them both on his back, Lance took off, heading towards the nearby town.

Later...

The new Saint of Silver stood in his room in the town's inn, trying out his new Silver Cloth. The difference was...incredible. It was incredibly light and...refreshing, despite being larger than the Pegasus Cloth. It was like Lance's whole body was now in an entire new level of power. A whole new type of energy was now running through his body, and Lance liked it... he liked it a lot. He punched and kicked the air a few times, noticing that it felt so much easier to do it with a Silver Cloth than a Bronze one. The design was much sleeker than that of the Pegasus Cloth, with the exception of the large spikes in his shoulder caps, and Lance's very cosmic aura seemed to have changed a little. It was larger ,of course, but also brighter and easier to invoke...

_-"If it's this way with a Silver Cloth"- _thought Lance- _" just imagine it with a golden one..."_

A golden one... Lance was lost in thoughts for a moment, when suddenly..

TUMPH, TUMPH... TUMPH,TUMPH

Someone was knocking at the wooden door of his room. The room was simple. Rectangular, with two single beds and a window showing the street filled with townfolk and off duty soldiers. Then again, what else did a servant of the Sanctuary need? Lunch and dinner were supplied by the inn owner to the inn occupants, the inn itself being funded by the Sanctuary. All part of an economic system of mutual help between the Sanctuary and it's supporters. Lance turned his attention to the door:

- It's OK...Come in.

The door opened a little to reveal a face that peeked inside. The person then entered the room...Shinta. The boy was a 12 years old Bronze Saint of Andromeda. He stood only about 5 and a half feet tall, being significantly shorter and younger than Lance, but he would grow up. He was... innocent-looking... He had long,green hair and emerald eyes which inspired people to trust him.

-"Lance, it's me"- said the young saint, closing the door behind him-"I watched your fight and... woow.."

Shinta gazed Lance up to down, admiring his Silver Cloth.

-"..You..you look great!"- he added with dreamy eyes.

Lance noticed his dreamy eyes and sweatdropped. He met Shinta about a year and a half ago when he was still doing assignments for the Sanctuary. The kid had just become a Saint of Bronze and was almost immediatly assigned to help him in a raid to a Black Saint's headquarters island. Back then he didn't like the idea of working with someone one bit. Lance was a loner!...But he could cope with it...But then he met Shinta. He had heard the rumors regarding the dangers of the Andromeda cloth's test, the sacrife recreation, and he thought that the Saint would be a strong, determined guy who could probably help him more than get in the way. But this kid, he was...innocent. Yes, innocent was the perfect way to describe him. He was kind, naive and had an annoying habit of following him around, calling him oni-chan (big brother) and seeing some good, patient, kind side in the cold Pegasus Saint that he simply didn't like to recognize in himself, at least at the time, even when Lance mistreated him. Lance had a strong suspicious that Shinta was part of Shion-sama's schemes to teach him a lesson,... and maybe he was right. He had to save the kid's life on his very first mission from a sudden Black saint ambush, which ended up making Shinta's attitude towards Lance even worse. Shinta saw him as a role model, really like a big brother he never had, and saving his life caused the Andromeda Saint to start worshipping him like a hero.

Ever since then, Lance found himself always receiving the same assignments as Shinta, much to his frustration. However... over the months... Lance started growing fond of the kid. So much that he has gotten completely used to his presence, even enjoying it a little, so much that he felt happy that the kid went to see him fight in the tournament. He still remembered the day when Shinta was forced to finish off a dangerous Specter they encountered near eastern Germany... he was crying like a baby... but Lance understood why... for someone as pure-hearted as him to have to end someone's life...Lance ended up having to have a heart-to-heart conversation with him to calm him down. Normally Shinta would just knock his opponents unconscious with his chain attacks, avoiding actually killing them... Lance wasn't sure if forcing such a innocent person to move past the fear of killing was such a good thing... he had learned to value Shinta's nature, which, and this was something he would never say outloud, gave him some motivation. His cheerful attitude inspired him to fight harder and train more, to protect a world that should probably have more peole like Shinta...The boy had changed him...only a little...but changed him nonetheless...while Shinta remained the same...

Townfolks and Sanctuary servants who saw them hanging out together just simply couldn't understand...They were complete opposites...Lance was strong, ruthless,silent, determined and enjoyed fighting... Shun was kind, benevolent, forgiving, disliked unnecessary fights and was more sociable and respectful. Even their very eyes were opposites...Lance eyes had their unique red, were sharp, violent and determined. Shinta's eyes, on the other hand, were of a smooth emerald and seemed...peaceful. There was something else: Lance was taller and had tempered muscles while Shinta had a slim, sleek appearance. Lance was no muscle mountain, not by a long shot. In fact, his muscle mass was just about the ideal size, giving him the looks of a real fighter without having any bulk, because Lance knew that it was important to limit his size. But compared to Shinta he was a body builder, though Shinta, of course, had a fairly high level of super strenght. In fact, Shint possessed an almost unnatural power level for someone his age. When Shinta would be fighting without his Andromeda Cloth or simply, being asleep, Lance would feel an incredible cosmos slowly emerging from deep inside of the boy. When confronted with this, Shinta would answer that his master had noticed the same, but that he didn't like using it because he couldn't control it. Lance suspected at the beginning that Shinta's massive hidden cosmos, if fully revealed, would most likely surpass his own, suspicion that was confirmed in a particularly intense battle they fought in the Andromeda Island six months before...A large division of Hades's soldiers led by a group of specters had taken over the island and their mission was to take it back. Upon reaching the island, their were ambushed and were overwhelmed by the huge disadvantage in numbers. Lance himself was about to be defeated by the leading specters when Shinta, in a desperate move to save him, took off his cloth and released his true cosmos in the form of a massive air blast which litteraly blew away their enemies to the sea. Lance himself was nearly blown away by the enourmous attack but he managed to save himself by countering the massive winds with his Pegasus Charge Fist just long enough for Shinta to defeat the Specters. Feeling the true power of the fellow Bronze Saint for the first time, Lance immediatly realized that his true cosmos far surpassed his own. Lance had spent the rest of the day afraid of confronting Shinta about it, much to the younger Saint's sadness, but after rescuing Shinta's master, who had been captured by the Specters, Lance had a private talk with the Silver Saint who helped the Pegasus Saint come to terms with Shinta's unique situation, by confronting Lance with the fact that, though Shinta's maximum cosmos surpassed Lance's, the amount of cosmos he could control was still inferior to the amount of cosmos Lance could control, basically telling him that Shinta still needed Lance to protect him, even if it was from himself...

Lance asked Shinta one day, on a mission, also noticing the differences between them, why he put up with him so much, to which Shinta answered:

-"What do you mean, Oni-chan? We're friends,aren't we?"

-" ...Yeah..I guess..."- he answered softly

...Friends...Now that he thought of it, Lance didn't have many friends. He didn't have ANY friends, in fact...And now he had one... Everyone he had met until now, aside from the young Saint, were either afraid of him, loathed him or were of too a high ranking in the sanctuary to have any kind of direct friendship. Shinta was about the only person in the world he could call a real friend...

-" Hey, oni-chan! Wake up!"- said Shinta, snapping his fingers.

-" Oh!"- said Lance in surprise, awekening from his daydreaming- "Sorry. I was thinking about something as I tried to get to used to moving around in this cloth... so you went to see me fight?"

Lance sit on his bed's edge and started taking off the pieces of his Silver Cloth so he could relax.

-"Well, yeah. You really thought I would miss it?"- Shinta moved to the other bed, the one by the window, and sit on it's edge- " Say, oni-chan..."

-"...What?"- asked Lance as he removed the last piece and placed it inside the Cloth's box, which layed next to his bed.

-"...You weren't using your full power, were you?"- sitting on the tall bed's edge, Shinta's legs were moving back and forward, expressing his curiosity.

Lance layed himself on his bed, looking at the ceiling, hands on the back of his head and of top of the large pillow, relaxing. It was still afternoon, but that didn't mean he couldn't close his eyes for a little..

-" ...Not really. Truth be told, I'm kind of saving myself for the evaluation fight."-he answered, eyes closed.

Shinta jumped off the bed, now standing with the sudden excitement.

-" Oh yeah! There still that, right? Who are you going to fight,anyway?"

-" Don't know. But I'm supposed to receive some sort of message. The opponent is chosen by someone among the ranks of the Saints of Gold, but since the only Saint of Gold still alive isn't around... I suppose the Pope is going to choose."

Shinta sit on the bed's edge again, his legs moving around yet again, though this time with anxiousness.

-"...I see"- he said.

Lance thought about what he just told Shinta. Then he thought about the Pope's suggestion to give his best. Was the man planning something for him?

-"Ne...Lance..."- mumbled Shinta

-"...Yes?"

-"Do you think...- Shinta looked at the Kentaurus Cloth box-" ...do you think I'll become a Silver Saint... just like you and my master?"

-" ...Probably. If you train hard enough..."

Shinta's eyes and smile both widened:

-"REALLY? Thanks Oni-chan!But..."

-"But what?

-" Now that you're a Silver Saint, you're not gonna...you're not gonna turn into a mean jerk, are you?"

Lance opened his eyes, seeing the stone, white ceiling. He then looked at Shinta... he had a sad, expective look, as if he was afraid that Lance was going to somehow abandon him or leave him behind. Immediatly realizing what Shinta meant, Lance's gaze returned to the ceiling and asked:

- " What do you mean, little brother?"- Lance closed his eyes again and smirked- "We're friends, aren't we?

Shinta's eyes and smile widened once again in an expression of pure joy. Did he just called him..." little brother"? Shinta got up and took a step towards Lance's bed with the intent of hugging him with happiness, but Lance, guessing his intentions, quickly raised his hand in front of him in a "STOP" signal fashion.

-"NO mushiness!"- he firmly declared.

Shinta had a disappointed look on his face but decided not to pout. That was Lance. And he probably wouldn't have him any other way. Shinta layed on his bed, facing Lance's side of the room and then noticed the Pegasus Cloth Box standing between his own bed and the Kentaurus Silver Cloth.

-" So what are you going to do with the Pegasus Cloth?"- asked the Andromeda Saint, his own Cloth's box standing between his bed and the wall with the window on his bed's left.

Lance opened his eyes and looked at the box as if he hadn't decided it's fate yet.

-"Oh yeah! I haven't thought about that yet!"

Shinta sweatdropped. For someone who apparently went through so much to acquire his cloth, Lance was being highly negletive towards it...

-" Well..."- he resumed-" I think I'm going to hand it over to the Sanctuary..."

-" Really? Aren't you going to keep it?"

-" Why should I? It's of no use for me, but it might be of use for someone else..."

-" That's cold, Lance. Aren't you going to miss it? I heard Cloth's have a mind of their own!"

-" Well, I AM going to miss it a little bit. After all, it was my first Cloth and I used it for two whole years! I learned a lot while using it."

-"But..."

-" But I need to move on and keeping that Cloth would be just greedy! And I don't want to hand it over to Bellephoron again so it's going to stay here."

-"Why not?"

-" Well firstly because the temple is getting old and decayed and might collapse at any moment, trapping the cloth inside...Secondly, Bellephoron is a jerk and thirdly the difficulty level of the challenge is way too high for any apprentice...No, I think it's going to stay here..."

-" But what is going to happen to it?"

-" I don't know. They'll probably just hand it over to a tournament winner. Yeah, knowing these guys, they'll just probably organize some crazy tournament between apprentices and recruits and hand it over to the winner. I just hope it's given to someone who actually deserves it..."

-"So what, now?"

-" For now I'm going to focus on the evaluation match. I'm not expected to win but if I do good maybe I can get a high rank among the Silver Saints, and then..."

-"...Saint of Gold?"

-"...Yeah... It's probably going to take years but... I just know I can do it..."

-" Then... what golden cloth would you be wearing?"

Lance thought about it for a moment...

-" You know something? I really have no idea! I think it's determined by your sign..."

-" Don't you know which is your birth constellation?"

-" Well, not really. Truth be told, I have no idea in which day I was born! Kastiel told me my parents died in some horrible accident. Completely disfigured and unrecognizable. Died before they could even register anything about me. Hell! Even my name was given to me by the Sanctuary!"

-" Oh...sorry"

-" NO, it's OK to talk about it! I don't really mind... I've gotten used to it by now...

-"Oh...OK then."- said Shinta with a cheerful smile- "As for me, I think I would have the Virgo Gold Cloth.."

Lance smirked:

-" Andromeda Cloth, Virgo Cloth... that's kind of girly, don't you think?

Shinta blushed with embarassment

-"HEY! That's mean, 'nichan! I can't help my birthdate you know.."

Lance only laughed:

-" Ha,ha...sorry. Don't take it too seriously. I'm just messing with you...

Shinta relaxed, feeling less embarrased.

-" Don't worry, oni-chan! One day, I know you'll become a Gold Saint. And I know you're going to win the evaluation match!"

Lance felt embarassed by Shinta's flatter:

-"Shinta, It's not like I can win EVERY fight..."

Shinta suddenly stood with his knees on the bed, fists clenched in the air:

-" What are you talking about?"- he protested-" You've never lost before, have you?"

Lance looked at his friend...

-" Well, no but..."

Suddenly...

TUMPH,TUMPH,TUMPH

Someone else knocked at the door...The two looked at eachother before Shinta said:

-" Yeah? Come in."

A grunt soldier holding a spear entered the room, his annonymous face shadowed by the helmet. He saluted the two Saints and announced:

- "I have a message for Kentaurus Lance"- he then revealed a letter with the seal of the Pope on it in his hand.

Shinta got up and the soldier handed to him the letter. The grunt soldier then saluted both of them again and left, closing the door behind him before the Andromeda Saint could even thank him. Shinta looked at Lance who nodded at him from his bed, giving him permission to open it. Shinta saw the Pope's seal and openned the letter taking the small piece of paper on it. Shinta analyzed the paper, switching between both sides of it as if confused by the amount of information on it and trying to find some more.

-"Well..."- asked Lance, anxious

-" Nothing...there's just a name written here."

-" It's probably the name of my opponent. What does it say?"

-" Let's see... Heracles Aguilon."

Lance looked at him, confused:

-"Who is that?"

Meanwhile, at a nearby bar...

-So you're gonna let go, huh?- asked Aguilon

Kastiel and Aguilon were sitting at a table in the local bar, drinking. The elder Silver Saint found his comrade drinking there shortly after he left the Colliseum and decided to join him and talk about things.

-"Yep."- answered Kastiel, playing with the cup holding his drink.

-"Great! That's good, Kastiel! Holding all that anger inside of you is never a good thing. I'm proud of you, buddy! You're doing something very honourable!- he said, patting his arm from across the table.

-"Yeah... I guess you're right, "hero". And I feel much better now."

-" So what made you change your mind?"- Aguilon took another sip of his drink

-" I was at the Colliseum today... got just in time to see the finals..."

-" You were?"

-"Yeah... And you know what? Seeing that kid today, seeing how much he has grown up and how much he improved... I finally see why he beat the crap out of me two years ago. That kid is going to do great things someday Aguilon... and he doesn't want any old master wanna-be taking the claim for his hard work when that happens. No... he was right... the strenght he has... I didn't give it to him... he gained it on his own... I see it now... And I accept it!"- Aguilon took his drink, swallowing it all in almost a single gulp.

-"Really? It's kind of a shame, you know?"- Aguilon got up

-" What? Why?"

-"It's just that I received a notification from his Holiness that I, Heracles Aguilon, am going to be his evaluation match opponent! I just thought you would enjoy seeing me beating the crap out of the guy who has beaten the crap out of you..."

Kastiel started laughing and stood up himself.

-" What? What's so funny?"- asked the Silver Saint leader

-" Nothing, nothing..."-Kastiel started leaving-"Good luck on your match! Oh!"-Kastiel stopped next to the bar's exit, suddenly remembering something-"Your treat old man, right?"

Kastiel left the bar, leaving Aguilon staring at the door, wondering what he meant with his good luck wish and laughter...

-"...Yeah."- he said to himself-"My treat..."

* * *

_"I gotta hand it to you, Lance. I don't think I ever met anyone so darn... stubborn."_

- Taurus Aldebaran to Lance


	7. Duel with a Hero

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

I'm serious! Please review...Pretty please...? Sorry, I'm late. I was sick yesterday...REALLY!

OCs up until now: Pegasus, Centaur Lance; Kerberus Kastiel (NMPA); Heracles Aguilon; Sagitta Nam(NMPA); Andromeda Shinta; Only a few more yet to come...

NMPA: No More Predicted Appearances ( does not include potential mentions)

_**PLEASE READ THE PS BELOW**_

PS: Man, I'm tired...Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays:) I'm sorry but I think I'm going to take a **HUGE** break from this story...I just don't feel motivated...I already started working on chapter 8 but...Maybe if I got more hits and reviews...I think I'm going to start working on my other projects, particularly "Lance's Role InuYasha", and even those are not gonna make much progress...I'm sorry guys but everytime I sit in front of my computer and open the Chapter 8 file I feel such a lack of motivation...It's a lot harder writing a decent fanfic than I thought...Hopefully I'm gonna have time to do some research on the InuYasha manga continuity before I do anything so keep your eyes open for my new project:)

_"It was only when he fought Heracles Aguilon that Lance finally showed his full power to the Sanctuary and that fight... it was the first sign...the first glimpse of the man that would change the world forever..."_

- in _"The Sacred Saints of Athena", _by Libra Shiryu (2007)

Chapter 7- "Duel with a hero:Centaur Charge Fist vs Heracles Ryu Sei Ken!"

The Coliseum was less packed that day, as noticed by Lance. The evaluation match, after all, as the name suggests, is for formal evaluation of newcoming Saints of Silver and not for the soldiers's entertainment. That match would decide if Lance would be worthy of a respectful position in the Sanctuary: if he would continue doing assignments, if he would guard an unnowed cloth and find it a new owner, if he would be training lower rank soldiers and saints or if he would be leading men into battle... There were only about 20 people present: himself, Aguilon in the opposite side of the arena, Shinta, who was cheering for him from a seat in his "side of the Colliseum", the Pope and three Saints of Silver who would evaluate his overall peformance and a few random soldiers who took some interest in the match and would be watching it from the seats. The sun was high in the sky, though black clouds spread through out it threatened to pour rain down upon them. The match would start soon... in five minutes to be exact... Lance was doing all sorts of exercises to warm himself up while Aguilon simply watched him, analyzing him. Lance had found out more about Aguilon ever since he received the message... a Sanctuary veteran, a hero, responsible for countless military victories, Heracles Aguilon was widely considered to be, by far, the most powerful of all Saints of Silver and, therefore, third only to Shion-sama and the Gold Saint of Libra in terms of both power and authority within the Sanctuary. And since Lance has never met the mysterious Master Dohko and the Pope, of course, was off-limits as an opponent, that meant that Aguilon was only the biggest challenge of Lance's life until then! Which is why Lance made sure he was prepared, spending the last three days getting used to the Silver Cloth of Centaur and training. Not the usual physical training but training regarding the use of cosmos to it's maximum...And that would be his true trump card...among others...

-" Good luck, Lance!"- the clothless Shinta yelled from his seat, waving his arm above him.

Lance looked at him and waved back:

- " Thanks!"- he then returned his attention to Aguilon and thought- _" I'm going to need it..."_

Both Saints were already wearing their respective cloths. Lance noticed that even though Aguilon's right arm was more protected than the other, the left arm was equipped with a gauntlet with spikes. "I'm going to have to watch out for those" thought Lance as he gazed upon the spiked. The man wasn't exactly old... the extreme training sessions allowed the Saints to keep their youth for decades to come...A man could be in his fourties and have the same energetic vitality of one in his twenties. Aguilon had the looks of a man in his forties... so he must be in his sixties,assumed Lance. His hair was grey with age and a short grey beard and goatee decorated his face which, added to his almost randomly-placed scars, gave him the looks of a man who had seen it all and lived to tell the tale, impossible to shock and with a mind filled with all sorts of battle strategies and styles. But Lance knew better than to underestimate the elder Saint... the Pope himself was said to be over 200 years old and Lance knew that believing him to be a washed up old man was a gross mistake... even though he thought the rumours about his age to be **VERY** exagerated. How could someone be over _200_ years old? That was ridiculous...he thought...Three minutes now... Lance shoock his head a little, forcing himself to focus again...Aguilon...He had seen his face before but he couldn't remember when or where...As far as Lance was concerned, though, that was their first meeting. Lance narrowed his eyes in seriousness. He would not be able to trick this guy...at least not easily...Was this Shion-sama's plan from the beginning? To push him to his limits? Yes...it made sense...so that he could truly be tested! All the opponents he faced so far... it was all preparation for this moment...Bellephoron, whose challenge pushed him over the edge, making him grow strong enough to face the Kerberus Saint...Kastiel, whose defeat by his hands granted him freedom from Mount Olympus...the Black Saints he saved Shinta from, who taught him to value the lives of others...the battle in Andromeda's island, when Shinta saved HIM, destroying his arrogance and replacing it with a valuable humility, not to mention allowing him to finally accept Shinta's situation and friendship... 30 seconds left...Lance looked at His Sanctity, who was being guarded by the three Silver Saint judges (not that he actually needs them...) as if to confirm if this had been really his plan all along...he stared at the red-eyed black mask for a moment...he didn't know what to conclude...

_-"Damn it, Lance!"- _he thought to himself as he forced himself to turn his attention back to his foe-to-be -"_The world doesn't spin around you, you know? Not everything is about you!"_

The Pope stood up from his seat:

-"You may begin the match!"

Lance immediatly placed himself in his fighting pose. Aguilon nodded at the Pope and looked back at Lance...this would be interesting... he would finally fight the guy who gave Kastiel so much trouble. But Aguilon would not underestimate Lance. He knew that everyone who has fought Lance so far has made that mistake and paid dearly for it... Lance was a great fighter. He was not just strong, fast and smart...he FOUGHT well! There were those that simply used their power wildly...Lance was not like that...Maybe at first, but not anymore...He took the trouble to watch the kid's fights in the tournament...He knew how to use every advantage he had or, at least, was aware he had and quite simply...he made no mistakes...He never allowed himself to underestimate someone or let someone get him angry. There were Saints who reached Lance's rank at a much earlier age... but there was something about him that caused Aguilon's tempered sixth sense to tingle... Aguilon has evaluated many Silver Saints before Lance...Hell! He even had evaluated Kastiel, Lance's would-be master...Over the years he realized that they always made the same mistake...overestimate their new Cloths. It was normal for a Saint to have a period of "invencibility" after a acquiring a new, improved cloth...But,Lance would not make that mistake, because he knew that Lance, unlike the others, took the three preparation days to test every inch of his Cloth's surface, every limitation and every flaw...This would be an interesting match indeed...Aguilon saw the green-haired kid in the seat behind Lance cheering for the Kentaurus Saint... He had a friend...that was good. Aguilon thought that Lance would end up another lone wolf, hating the Sanctuary and it's authority, slowly descending into the path of a Black Saint, but if he had someone to fight with, to trust and to just talk with, then not only would Lance become a better person, he would become a stronger Saint, too. He looked back at Lance who was patiently awaiting without breaking his pose...

-"Getting impacient?"- asked Aguilon- " What makes you think I'll attack first?"

Lance did not answer...

_-"That's good, Lance."- _thought Aguilon-"_ Don't let me get you angry..."_

-"You know..."- resumed the Heracles Saint-"You probably don't remember this but...you and I have met before."

Lance narrowed his eyes, never breaking his pose, though surprised...

-" He knows Oni-chan?"- Shinta asked to himself.

-"Yeah..."- said Aguilon, scratching his chin-"...It must have been like...8 years ago or something...time sure does fly, doesn't it?"

_-"8 years ago?"- _thought Lance-"_ It must have been before my punishment...but when?"_

Aguilon saw the puzzlement in Lance's eyes:

-"Yeah...I figured you wouldn't remember...but I do...you were a lot smaller...quite the rascal, really...same day you met Kastiel!"

Lance widened his eyes a little, suddenly remembering when he had met the old man...That day, at the Sanctuary's port...he wondered who was the man besides Kastiel but didn't pay him much mind...So it was him...

-" He,he,he...that's right"- said Aguilon -"I've known you since you were a little kid, never thought you would come this far. In fact, I thought you wouldn't last the first year much less grow this much...But don't think I'll hold ba-"

-"I don't care!"- said Lance, his eyes narrowed once again, interrupting Aguilon's speech.

It was Aguilon's turn to be surprised.

-"What?"- he said

-" Listen, I'm not here to mumble about the past with people I barely know...I'm here to fight...to prove myself, got it? It's ME you're fighting, not that little kid you met 8 years ago! But if you think you really know that much about me...then you should have no trouble defeating ME!"

-"Yeah!"- said Shinta from his seat-"Get him, Oni-chan!"

Aguilon started laughing:

-He,he,he,he...BUAHAHAHAHAHA! You really are something else kid!- Aguilon placed his left foot forward, as if preparing himself to fight-" This is gonna be one hell of a match!"

_-"There's no getting to this guy's bad side, I see"- _Lance thought, smirking a little-"_ But that means I can't count on him making any stupid mistakes! He's just way too optimistic..."_

For a moment, there was only silence...Suddenly, cosmic auras started emerging from both of them... Then, in a blink of an eye, they vanished and a shockwave suddenly exploded from the center of the arena. Everyone looked at it's origin to see the two Silver Saints engaged in a fierce power struggle, their respective right arms collided with eachother, trying to overcome the other, shacking with the great effort they were making...

_-"Come on, Oni-chan"- _Shinta thought to himself_-"You can do it!"_

Shion watched as the two fighters continued trying to beat the other:

_-"They're testing eachother's strenght.."-_he thought

Aguilon took a step forward and his arm pushed Lance back, who was forced to break the power struggle and jump away from the older Saint.

_-"He's stronger than I am..."- _he deduced

Aguilon dashed forward to meet Lance with a array of successive punches and kicks. Lance soon found himself desperately trying to dodge and block Aguilon's attacks while trying to find an opening in his defences...Nothing...One of Aguilon's punches grazed his face, which got out of the way just in time and, after blocking three more punches with his Silver gauntlets, Lance twisted his body to his left side, causing the fourth punch to miss, instead hitting Lance's left palm whose fingers closed around Aguilon's fist. The two stopped in that stance for a moment, Lance's left shoulder facing Aguilon, his left hand holding his foe's left fist. Aguilon smirked. Suddenly, his hand broke free of Lance's hold and his right arm rushed forward, going around Lance's neck. Before the Centaur Saint even knew it, Aguilon's left hand went beneath Lance's left armpit and met his own right wrist, locking Lance in a serious headlock. Aguilon started applying pressure, and his massive armoured right arm started squeezing Lance, who was desperately, and fruitlessly, trying to break the hold. Shinta yelled Lance's name in concern as Lance's right hand did it's best to keep Aguilon from crushing his neck by trying to move it away from him, with no success though.

-"You know...argh"- said Aguilon between gritted teeth as he put more and more strenght into his hold-"...you can't keep this up forever!...You're gonna get tired and you'll lose, Lance!"

As if to enphasize his point, Aguilon suddenly tightened his hold further, causing Lance to gasp for breath as he struggled to get free...

-"He,he...give up,Lance!"- he continued- "I can sense that your cosmos is getting weaker!"

Lance, however, to Aguilon's surprise, started laughing faintly...

-"What's so funny?"- asked Aguilon, reapplying more strenght as if to shut him up.

Lance's laughter was interrupted by a sudden grunt of pain as he felt the additional pressure, but then he smirked:

-"...Sure, it may look like I'm getting weaker..."-he said-"..or maybe..."

Aguilon widened his eyes, intrigued. Lance narrowed his own and gritted his teeth in effort, as if focusing...Suddenly he yelled:

-"KENTAURUS BURST!"

All of a sudden, Lance's whole body seemed to explode as he released a huge wave of cosmos towards all directions. Aguilon's hold on him was completely broken as the Silver Saint was hit at point-blank range by the blast, sending him flying several meters away from Lance, his whole body damaged by the attack. Lance stood still, the dust clouds raised by the explosion starting to clear, his arms completely stretched as if stretching them had released the blast, but he wasted no time...Spinning around himself 180º , Lance now faced the floored Aguilon:

-"CENTAUR FLAME ATTACK"- he yelled, before punching the air towards Aguilon's direction.

Suddenly, from his fist, a huge torrent of cosmic flames were released, heading towards Aguilon. The elder Silver Saint only had time to cross his arms in front of him, before he was completely swallowed by the attack. Aguilon felt the huge heat in his skin...all Cloths acted as termical shields, some better than the others, but even still, Aguilon felt pain as his body was thrown to the ground once again and was pushed several feet behind him before he crashed with the Colliseum's stairs/seats. Both techniques had been devised by Lance when he was still the Pegasus Saint of Bronze. The Flame Attack used his cosmos to generate a massive torrent of flames as wide and hot as he was powerful and as fully charged the attack was, while the Burst attack caused a sudden explosion of cosmos, also chargeable to a limited extenct, it's range, size, power and releasing speed being proportional to it's charge level. The power of the Burst came from the simple fact that it was so sudden...it packed enourmous pushing power, raising a lot of dust, even when charged to a minimum and it actually released itself in the form of a single, quickly ended explosion wave unlike most of the other cosmic explosion attacks which consisted in constantly releasing cosmos in all directions, wave after wave... It was extremely useful in desperate situations since Lance learned to release the blast without having to move any part of his body, allowing him to use it even if his movements are somehow restricted, like when Aguilon had him stuck in that headlock. The technique was also particularly powerful at close range, making the predicament Lance was in the perfect situation to use it... Lance now stood in a small crater, generated by the force of the blast, blood running down a cut in his cheek caused when one of Aguilon's punches grazed it earlier. Lance ran his thumb through the cut, wiping the blood off it and cursing the spikes in Aguilon's left gauntlet. Aguilon got up from the crumbled ground, his body and cloth both damaged by Lance's technique combo...and he was angry...

_-"Wow..."-_thought Shinta- _" Lance's Flame Attack seems way stronger and bigger than before...is it the Silver Cloth? It must be! I knew it! Oni-chan is going to win!"_

Lance stood on his guard, reassuming his fighting pose as the maddened Heracles Saint slowly approached him. Sweat ran down Lance's cheek...If that combo didn't take him out...what would? Suddenly, Aguilon's angry expression turned into a amused one.

-"He,he,he,he..HA,HA,HA,HA"- he laughed-"Not bad! Not bad at all! I can see why Kastiel lost to you, but... you're not going all out, are you? That's OK, I'm not either."

Lance narrowed his eyes. He knows...

-" What do you say we stop playing around and get to IT, huh?"-added Aguilon

-"...Fine..."

Aguilon placed himself in his own fighting pose, fists clenched before him, legs slightly flexed and spread apart. Both Saints started focusing their cosmos to the max...Energy started flowing inside of them both, auras of cosmos emerging from them...The day suddenly got darker...Shinta loked up to see black clouds now blocking the sun...A smal rumble was heard among the clouds, announcing rain and lightning...both blue auras suddenly erupted in size and intensity...a lightning was heard...and the first drops of rain started pouring down...

-" He,he,he...now we shall see just how good you are, Lance!"-said Aguilon.

Lance could feel the small vibrations on the floor as the two Saints came closer to their peaks. The rain increased in intensity, now heavily pouring down on them. Suddenly, as a single lightning tore through the skies, both Saints turned into blurs and charged against eachother, colliding in the center of the arena, now engaged in a fierce handlock power struggle, completely focused on eachother.

_-" They're fighting at a speed greater than sound!"- _thought Shinta.

Pope Shion, too, was intrigued. Behind the mask, hiding his face, his eyes narrowed as his attention focused on the two fighters:

_-"...Could it be...?"- _he thought

Suddenly, Lance let go of the handlock and attempted to punch his foe, who blocked the attack. The two then engage eachother in a continuous exchange of attacks and blocks. The two failed to gain any significant advantage over eachother until Lance managed to dodge a punch directed at his face and counter with a strong knee blow to the elder Saint's chest. Lance smirked as Aguilon took a few steps back:

-" You may be stronger...But I'm faster!"

Lance jumped forward to deliver another knee blow, this time to Aguilon's jaw. Aguilon's armoured arm blocked it, however:

-"Oh, really?"- he smirked

Aguilon's arm, which was blocking Lance's knee, swept forward, tossing Lance back to the ground. Aguilon then jumped back a few feet and, as Lance got up, he thrust his right fist forward and yelled:

-" DODGE THIS! HERACLES...RYU SEI KEN!"

Suddenly, what seemed like dozens of blue cosmic blasts were fired from his fist...Lance was completely caught by surprise...His whole body was bombarded by the blasts, tossing him against the ground, his Silver Cloth cushioning the blows and fall, though he still felt dozens of impacts throughout his entire body. He had been competely overwhelmed by the attack!

-"ONI-CHAN!"- yelled Shinta from his seat.

For a while, all that Lance felt was pain. Lance picked himself up, bruises all over his body, panting...Were those blasts...punches? How could it be? Lance was way outside of Aguilon's arms reach! Lance's gaze widened as he saw Aguilon charging his cosmos and once again release the attack:

-"HERACLES...RYU SEI KEN!"

Lance once again saw the blasts flying towards him, but this time he was prepared...He narrowed his eyes, focusing...He saw that some blasts were small and fast while others were slower but bigger. Focusing completely on the attack, Lance tried to see the cosmic spheres as punches rather than blasts, isolating each one in his mind...He raised his left hand, blocking a small blast, then dodged a big one...Somehow, the attack seemed slower...No! It was Lance's reflexes which were adapting to the attack's enourmous speed. He blocked, then dodged, then dodged again...Aguilon only saw his attack being completely nullified, Lance either dodging or blocking each blast...Aguilon put more energy into the attack, causing the meteors to go faster and in greater number, however, Lance seemed to adapt himself to the increasing intensity of the attack, dodging and blocking with greater and greater speed. Aguilon put all the remaining energy he planned to spend on that Meteor Fist Round into one last, single, slightly bigger blast which travelled faster than all the others, hoping Lance would be caught by surprise. Lance, however, saw it coming and instead of blocking it or dodging it, Lance caught it with both hands! The strenght of the blast, however, continued to push Lance, who found himself being pushed back by the blast in his hands, the friction of the ground beneath his feet being unable to stop his body movement. After being dragged two or three meters, Lance stomped the ground with his left foot, digging it deep into the floor. He then did the same thing with his right foot and, as a result, he was able to stop his body from being pushed any further. Then, with a mighty effort, Lance concentraded his cosmos and redirect the cosmic sphere in his hands towards the skies, opening a hole among the dark clouds from where light came through. As the hole among the clouds slowly refilled itself, darkening the arena once again, Lance took both feet off the wrecked floor and confronted Aguilon, who was shocked with Lance's feat. Both Silver Saints were panting...

-"Hey,...not bad!"-said Aguilon between his heavy breaths.

-"I'm...a Saint... of Athena...-said Lance, also between breaths- You...didn't really think...the same move... would work on me... twice,...did you?"

Shion raised a brow...Lance was acknowledging his role as an Athena's Saint...Has he finally accepted his fate? Maybe he has grown a lot more than he thought...

-"He,he,he,he...Alright then"- resumed Aguilon,still panting- " Let's give it... another try, OK?"

Aguilon started waving his hands above him, and after a while, Lance noticed he was shaping the Heracles Constelation with his hands movement. The same attack...only at full power and speed...

-"HERACLES RYU SEI KEN!"

From Aguilon's fist came out an authentic barrage of super-fast meteor blasts, all aimed at different parts of Lance's body. One of them gained the lead and came to an inch of Lance's face until the Centaur Silver Saint literally slaped it away from him, redirecting hit towards an empty Colliseum seat which was competely destroyed. Many more came after that but Lance, always using the same hand, started deflecting all the blasts towards different directions. The spectating soldiers took cover as many deflected blue and white blasts turned the Colliseum into a cross-fire zone. Shinta, Shion and the three Silver Saints stood still, amazed, as the blasts apparentally all missed them, some by inches, others by whole meters. Aguilon noticed this but did not let it impress him...he had to focus! The many hundreds of blasts were starting to turn the Colliseum into a light show until Aguilon had enough and sent four last meteors, the first meant to distract Lance and the others to finish him. The feint blast hit the floor just two meters in front of Lance and ricocheted towards him. Lance, however saw this coming and, with a side chop from his left hand, destroyed the blast and thrust his right hand forward:

-"KENTAURUS BARRIER!"- he yelled.

The last three blasts collided with an invisible wall of cosmos which apparentally shattered almost immediatly after taking the three hits consecutively, raising a lot of dust in the air which completely screened Lance. Aguilon was panting heavily as he gazed upon the smoke, trying to figure out where Lance was...The smoke then cleared away, revealling a completely unarmed Lance...

_-"It can't be!"- _thought Aguilon- _" Not only he defended himself from the meteors, but he was able to aim the deflected ones away from the others..."_

Everyone was visibly impressed with Lance's display. The soldiers, believing themselves to be safe, emerged from their hideouts cautiously while Shinta gazed upon the seats behind him and noticed, sweatdropping, that they had all been destroyed by the blasts that missed him.

_-"There's only one way he could have pulled this off"- _both Aguilon and Shion thought_-"Somehow during the past two years,...he must have awaken...the 7th sense!"_

Aguilon was visibly frightened. Lance was tired but Aguilon was more...

-"...I finally figured your attack out!"- said Lance, his eyes narrowed.

-" What?"- said Aguilon, incredulous.

-"At first I thought that you simply used your cosmos to throw many punches at an incredible rate and speed...But then I noticed that you were also able to use the attack in targets away from your arms's length...I deduced that instead of delivering punches directly... you launched the cosmos and energy of the said punches in the form of cosmic blasts much like meteors..."

Aguilon staggered, amazed:

-" But I saw your first round of attacks and the second explanation just simply didn't fit...That's when I realized... that you can perform the attack in both ways!"

Aguilon felt like his guts just fell apart...he discovered the secret of his technique, and he has learned how to nullify it using a smaller amount of energy than the one Aguilon used to execute it. That meant that his signature attack...was useless! A drop of sweat ran down his face and he hoped Lance didn't noticed it! He mustn't look nervous... not when he still had one last trump card...

-" I've rendered your ultimate attack useless!"- said Lance, reassuming his fighting pose- "Now it's time to finish you off!"

Lance started charging his cosmos, preparing himself to deliver the final blow, when Aguilon started laughing:

-"BUHAHAHAHA! Go ahead, finish me off if you can!"- Aguilon started waving his hands above him again...

-" That technique again? It's getting tiresome, old man! But if that's the way you want it then fine!"- Lance started foucusing his cosmos in his legs and in his right arm, preparing his own signature attack.

If Lance could hit him now with the Centaur Charge Fist, he would win! Both fighters charged their cosmos to the max...

-"KENTAURUS... CHARGE FIST!"

Lance, with the amazing speed of the attack, managed to cover most of the distance before Aguilon thrust his fist forward. He was going to win! Even if Aguilon now unleashed the Heracles Ryu Sei Ken, the sheer strenght of his attack would allow him to run right through the meteor blasts and hit the elder Silver Saint! Lance was about to punch his foe when Aguilon released the attack:

-HERACLES...SUI SEI KEN!"

Wait! "Sui" Sei Ken? Lance wanted to stop his own attack but it was to late... he was going too fast for his own reflexes to notice his predicament before the single,massive cosmic meteor was released from Aguilon's fist and collided with his fist. Lance soon found himself struggling to overcome the strenght of the cosmic blast, which was as huge as he was, as his Centaur Charge Fist was now trying to pierce trough it. Lance noticed his body was slowly losing speed, meaning he was fighting a losing battle...Suddenly, he was pushed back by the blast but was able to once again dig his feet into the ground and tried to stop the meteor from overwhelming him with both hands. Suddenly, the ground beneath Lance's feet crumbled, digging his greaved feet deeper, and Lance, realizing that he was still losing, pushed his cosmos to the max, causing a huge aura to expand from his body. This however, was to no avail and Lance, as Shinta yelled his name, was overwhelmed and the meteor crashed on him, crushing him between itself and the ground, and exploding on impact. For a while, Lance, before everyone's eyes, was at the center of a huge dome of exloding light which temporarily ofuscated everyone's eyesight... And, as the white light finally, and slowly dissipated, the small crowd looked at the arena to see Lance apparentally unconscious in the bottom of a almost flat crater, his body bruised all over and his Silver Cloth filled with cracks, countless rain drops falling on him...

-" LANCE!"- yelled Shinta from his seat, who was about to enter the arena to help Lance when one of the three Silver Saints got in his way.

-" You must not interfere!"- he said, firmly

-" But he needs help!"- Shinta protested.

-"That's not for you to decide!"

Nearby, the Pope was also already climbing down the seat/stairs along with the two other Silver Saints. It was still raining heavily.

-"_So this is it, huh?"- _he thought.

Aguilon was panting heavily...he was exhausted...but he won! He looked one last time at the unconscious Lance, as if to confirm his victory, and then started walking away from the arena, left hand rubbing his right arm, which was slightly numb...

-" He-ey...!"-he suddenly heard- "W-where d-do you think...you're g-going?"

Aguilon, stopped, shocked. He couldn't be...! The Aguilon turned around to see a severely beaten up Lance, slowly picking himself up. Shinta, who was still arguing with the Silver Saint, saw Lance getting up and gave off a huge smile:

-"LANCE! You're OK!"

The Pope and everyone else were also surprised:

-" _What!"- _Shion thought-" _He's not done, yet?"_

Lance's whole body was trembling. Small shards of his Silver Cloth were falling to the ground as he picked himself up. His tiara/helmet was broken in half, fully revealing his black hair. He was very hurt and exhausted, his expression dead serious! Lance looked Aguilon in the eyes and the older Silver Saint staggered in fear upon looking directly at Lance's red eyes, which had a sharp promise of a painful payback. Lance's blue aura started flowing from his body...

-" N-NO WAY!"- Aguilon said, sweating all over in sudden fear-" How could you withstand that attack? The Sui Sei Ken combines the power of all the meteors into a single one!"

-"...I-I won't give up!"- said Lance, slowly stepping out of the crater-" I WON'T!"

The Pope was dumbfounded, simply staring at Lance...

-" I AM LANCE!"- he said-" I AM A SAINT OF SILVER OF ATHENA! And...as long as remains a single scratch of cosmos inside of me...I WON'T GIVE UP!"

Lance's cosmos flared, increasing in size...Aguilon prepared his Sui Sei Ken once again...This time he wouldn't get up so easily... Lance, as he finally stepped out of the crater, saw this and clenched his fists before him, also focusing his cosmos...

-"LANCE!"- yelled Shinta-" YOU CAN DO IT!"

-"COSMOS!"- yelled Lance- "GIVE ME STREEEENGHT!"

Before the Pope's shocked eyes, Lance's cosmos erupted, his aura growing to a bright, golden yellow flame. Aguilon thrust his right fist forward:

-"HERACLES...SUI SEI KEN!

-"KENTAURUS...CHARGE FIST!"

All of a sudden, Lance's whole body instantly covered the distance between himself and Aguilon, hitting the Heracles Saint chest. Everyone looked at the arena and saw something unique: the image of Lance's body was dragged throughtout the entire path that Lance just covered between himself and Aguilon, as if light itself had a hard time keeping up with him. Everyone was shocked...Aguilon felt a huge pain in his chest as his brain finally received the information that Lance had just punched his guts... Shinta, the Pope, the Silver Saints... they could not believe their eyes...Aguilon fell to the floor, unconscious. Lance panted...Shion was simply...dumbfounded. Suddenly, the Pope broke free of his trance:

-"...Take Aguilon to receive proper medical attention"- he ordered the soldiers before turning his attention to the Silver Saint judges- "You may return to your posts! You won't be needed after all!"

The three Silver Saints hesitated for a moment, still shocked, before answering almost in unison, saluting Shion:

-" Yes, your Sanctity!"

As they left with the soldiers, only Shion, Shinta and Lance stood behind. Shinta was already next to Lance, congratulating him.

-"ONI-CHAN!"- he pratically screamed-" YOU DID IT!"

Lance was panting heavily, still kind of stunned by what he just did. The soldiers were already picking up Aguilon, placing him in a stretcher and leaving.

-"...Yeah...I did it...!"- answered Lance, loking at his hands as if he didn't recognize himself.

-" You were incredible, oni-chan! I mean, you were great the whole fight but when your aura turned golden..."- added Shinta, with dreamy eyes

What? His aura turned golden? So he wasn't deluding! Lance started taking off his damaged Silver Cloth and placing the parts inside the box...

-"Yeah...but the reaction of Shion-sama kind of worries me...sending the judges away like that..."

-" What? You think you did something wrong?"- asked Shinta concerned, as Lance finished packing his cloth.

-"Well, no... I don't think so, but..."

Lance was about to pick up the cloth box and place it on his back when the Pope suddenly emerged out of nowhere behind Shinta.

-"...Lance..."-he said, his voice betraying no emotion.

Both Saints felt a shiver run through their spine upon hearing his voice and quickly turned around to face Shion...

-" Shion-sama..:!" - both said, nervously.

-"...Come with me, Lance."- he firmly ordered.

-"...What?"- asked the aforementioned.

-"...I ordered you to come with me...You can leave the Centaur cloth with your friend...You won't need it anymore..."

Won't need it anymore? Did he really do something wrong? Was Shion-sama going to take away his newfound title? Was he going to punish him, somehow? Lance suddenly felt fear for the Cloth he worked so hard to conquer, taking a cautious step towards it...

-" Wait!"- interrupted Shinta- " Where are you taking him?"

-"...You go beyond your rank demanding for that information, Bronze Saint. But if his well-being worries you so, then don't let it...We are just going to..."talk"."

-"But..."

-"That's enough Shinta."- said Lance

-"But, oni-cha-"

-" No buts...Good or bad, what Shion-sama wants with me is obviously something that goes beyond your power to change..."

Shinta looked at Lance with worried eyes as he took Shion's side.

-" Don't worry."- Lance said to him-" I promise I'll be back in one piece. Go to the inn and rest, OK?"

For a moment, there was only silence...

-" Alright, Oni-chan..."- said Shinta with a sad look.

-"Thank you"- Lance turned his attention to Shion-" So what do you want with me, Shion-sama?

-"... Like I said, come with me..."

The three left the Colliseum together, though Shinta forced himself to part with the other two as they reached the exit. Shinta gave one last look at Lance who winked at him to give him confidence before heading off with His Sanctity towards the Gold Zodiac...

Chapter End

_"Ne, Lance-sama...Who was Cepheus Shinta?"_

-Andromeda Shun, inquiring Lance about the older saint's best friend


	8. Ascension to Gold

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

I'm serious! Please review...Pretty please...?

OCs up until now, which, by the way, I own: Pegasus, Centaur Lance; Kerbererus Kastiel(NMPA); Heracles Aguilon(NMPA);  
Sagitta Nam(NMPA); Andromeda Shinta; Only a few more to come

NMPA: No More Predicted Appearances (does not include any potential mentions)

BTW I will not give Lance the same sign as mine. I'm Acquarius. You will find that I will give Lance a completely different constellation.

PLEASE READ THIS BELOW

PS: In account for any future incoherence with the actual story by Masami Kurumada (mainly the characters age, specially those of the Saints of Gold, and amount of time between the Arcs), there WILL BE a few modifications to coincide with the facts in my fanfic!

_"There's something transcendent about wearing a Cloth of Gold...you just feel... superior...No! It's more like you're somehow going beyond the limits of the human race when you wear it! Their golden aura is intoxicating...You feel like nothing can touch you...that you're above mankind...that you've become GODS!"_

- Lance, to the new Saints of Gold, regarding his own experience with a Gold Cloth

Chapter 8- Ascension to Gold

Lance walked behind Shion as the two of them climbed the many stairs of the Gold Zodiac. They were already climbing the stairs between the Sagittarius temple and the Capricorn temple. Lance struggled to keep up with Shion whose long clothing and graceful walking gave him the impression that the Pope was floating just above the steps instead of actually climbing them. They were yet to say anything to eachother since they left the Colliseum and Lance was starting to get worried: what kind of screwed up performance did he have that Shion himself was guiding him throughout the legendary Gold Zodiac? Suddenly, without stopping and without looking back at Lance, Shion broke the silence:

-"It is my understanding that you've decided to hand over the Pegasus Bronze Cloth to the Sanctuary."

Lance was taken by surprise by the Pope's sudden decision to talk so he didn't answer right away.

-"...Yes. It is true."

-"...I see..."

Lance was starting to regret that decision too. If Shion took his Silver Cloth now, that would mean that he would become clothless...A drop of nervous sweat ran down his cheek as they reached the Capricorn temple and passed through it. At the center of the temple, Lance saw a statue of Athena handing over a sword to a soldier. Shion ignored the statue and the two of them left the temple and started climbing the stairs towards the Acquarius temple. Lance then decided to take the initiative:

-"What was that statue-"

-"It is placed on the temple protected by the Saint of Gold who holds Excalibur."- Shion interrupted him-"The last Saint of Gold to be granted the Excalibur was the Gold Saint of Capricorn...so the statue was placed on his temple."

-"I see..."

They passed through the next temple and started climbing the stairs towards the last house before the Pope's halls without a word. From the stairs, Lance could clearly see the Fire Clock, now inactive, with a Zodiac symbol marking each hour. Lance remembered his ambition to become a Saint of Gold and a sick feeling invaded his guts as he realized that that dream now might never come true...He would never be free of the Sanctuary...They entered the temple of Pisces and immediatly left it, now climbing the stairs towards the Pope's hall. Lance tried to imagine what awaited him inside the enourmous building but couldn't think of anything good...After what seemed like an eternity climbing more and more steps, the two of them reached the entrance of the building. They then entered the throneroom designated to the Pope and walked the red carpet about half the way to the throne before Lance decided to speak:

-"So what is going to happen to me?"

The Pope stopped. He then turned around and looked Lance in the eyes. They stood there, at the center of the room, looking at eachother, for what, to Lance, seemed like forever. Shion then spoke:

-"Saint of Silver, Kentaurus Lance...Do you realize what you have done?"

-"I-"

-"Do you realize what you did in that match?"

Lance was starting to lose his patiente. How was he supposed to know? He was keeping him in the dark! But Lance didn't dare to voice his anger...perhaps two years ago, he would have...but not now.

-"I'm sorry, Shion-sama."- he said, politely-"Forgive me, but I do not."

-"...Would you like me to tell you...?"

-"...Yes."- Lance said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

-"To be honest, Silver Saint, I'm still not sure how you were capable of doing that...I must say that I have underestimated your audacity!"

Lance's fist tightened in anger...He looked at the floor, believing that, if he wasn't looking directly at him, his anger would diminish...It did not.

-"Kentaurus Lance, look at me!"

Lance hesitated.

-"LOOK AT ME!"- Shion repeated

Lance looked at the Pope, releasing a red gaze of pure anger. His fist were trembling with the effort he was making to not punch the man.

-"I'm sorry, Shion-sama!"- he said-"It's hard to look at someone who hides behind a mask!"

Lance could not believe what he had just said. His anger subsided to be replaced by shock, shame and guilt. He wanted to cover his mouth...he wanted to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness...But the damage had been done...He couldn't see the emotion in Shion's hidden face but he imagined that he was utterly revolted by the Silver Saint's blasphemy. Shion then spoke:

-"...You're right..."- he said, with a calm voice- "It is hard to talk with someone who hides who he is..."

To Lance's complete shock, Shion removed his blue mask and red helmet and revealed his face to him. Lance's first reflex commanded him to cover his eyes, divert his gaze, do anything to prevent exposing his eyes to the Pope's identity...But he was too late. Shion's purple eyes and green hair were now completely exposed. Lance saw two oval marks above his eye brows and, most of all, he saw the emotion in Shion's face...He wasn't angry...nor dissapointed...more like...amazed. Lance's eyes were widened with shock

-"Shion-sama..."

-"It's Ok, Lance. You're right...You deserve my consideration AND my respect. I will not undermine your efforts by refusing to let you face me in fair terms."

-"But Shion-sama-"

-"Lance, you told me that you were not aware of what you have done...that you're not aware of what you've accomplished and why you're here..."

_-"Accomplished?"-_thought Lance

-"...But I will tell you...Lance,...what you have done hasn't been done...hasn't been possible for any saint to do ever since the last Saint of Gold."

Lance was now completely lost...:

-"...What have I done?"

-"Lance...you've proven yourself capable of reaching...and somehow breaking...the speed of light!"

-"Speed of light?"

-"Yes! That is only possible when one reaches the peak of the 7th sense: the essence of cosmos! By reaching the 7th sense you've unlocked the true power of the cosmos within you."

-"The 7th sense..."

-"But Lance, what you've done...you demonstrated to be capable of reaching the speed of light with incredible ease. Lance! There is no doubt about it! YOU HAVE UNLOCKED AND MASTERED THE 7th SENSE! Do you know what that means, Lance?"

Lance was completely dumbfounded...The 7th sense? He has mastered it? This was all completely new to him!

-"Lance."- resumed Shion-"The Saints of Gold are a divison within the Sanctuary that represent the strongest men in the world. It is through their action and unequaled heroism that the Sanctuary has remained undefeated all these years! They are a bastion of light, justice and peace! As long as the Gold Zodiac stands, Athena can only be defeated by her own action!"

-"But Shion-sama, what does that have to do with me?"

-"It is time, Lance...!"

Shion then turned around and pointed at a curtain that lied at the end of the room.

-"It is time...!- said Shion as the curtain opened-"...For you to become..."- the curtain revealed 11 golden boxes lined in a row-"...**A SAINT OF GOLD**!"

Lance was completely awestruck! He was standing before the legendary Cloths of Gold! And...and...he was going to...become a Saint of Gold...? Lance's eyes widened completely, his mouth opened...he could not believe it...the surge of emotions that flew to him almost overwhelmed him. Lance looked at Shion, as if to confirm that he was serious...Shion nodded.

-"I...I...am a Saint of Gold?"

-"Yes! Lance, to become a Saint of Gold, you must have complete mastery over the 7th sense! Also, you must be a man who truly believes in the Sanctuary's cause and will fight...and will give his life for Athena! You must be benevolent, just and compassionate! You must swear complete and absolute loyalty to the Athena and, most importantly,... you must let go of all the darkness in your heart!"

-"But Shion-sama...how can I do all of that?"

-"Do not worry Lance. I know you more than you think... I know that you're afraid of becoming someone you're not... of losing who you really are to the Sanctuary... But I will help you! You are the first Saint of Gold of an entirely new generation! Now that you've arrived, I'm sure fate will send us more, but for now you can only count on me and the Old Master of Rozan. Lance, you do not know which is your birth constellation, do you?"

Lance blushed a little, embarrased with such a trivial obstacle...

-"Don't worry."- said Shion-"Just walk over the cloths...they will answer that question."

Lance looked at the boxes. They were all lined up in a semi-circle, oredered from left to right by the houses of the Sanctuary (Aries to Pisces). Lance noticed that the 7th box was missing, leaving an empty space between the Virgo Cloth and the Scorpio Cloth...

-"The Libra Gold Cloth...?"- he asked

-"It's in Rozan..."

Lance nodded in understanding and walked over to the Pisces Cloth. Nothing happened...He looked at the Pope who told him to continue. Lance then walked the semi-circle, passing by the cloths one-by-one. Nothing yet...He then reached the Cancer Gold Cloth Box, which gave off a golden aura as soon as he approached it.

-"The Cancer Gold Cloth!"- said Shion-"It's reacting to your cosmos!"

-"You mean...that this is it?"

-"Yes! Lance, open it."

Lance didn't have to...As soon as his hand approached the handle that would open the box, the golden receptacle opened by itself, revealing a crab fashioned after many plates of golden armor. Lance awed...Suddenly, much like when he first acquired the Pegasus Cloth, the structure disassembled and donned itself on Lance piece-by-piece. Lance felt his cosmos skyrocketing as each piece was placed on his body...He felt his strenght, speed and power multiply...As the last piece, a headpiece, placed itself around is face, Lance's cosmic aura completely erupted in a golden flame. Shion watched, proudly as Lance examined himself head to toe, eyes widened and mouth opened in complete admiration...

-"I..."- he tried to say

-"Welcome, Saint of Gold. From here on out, you shall be known as Cancer Lance!"

Lance could not believe it...There he was, a Saint of Gold! A million thoughts rushed to his head...his enourmous power, his sudden freedom, his newfound obligation, the honor, the pride, the glory...the incredible feeling he was experiencing while wearing that cloth...He felt immortal!...He was one of the most powerful men in the world! Lance finally managed to divert his gaze from the Gold Cloth back to Shion, who was smiling.

-"I...I feel great!"- said Lance-"I feel incredible!...Wow, I feel like...like..."

-"Like a god, right?"- asked Shion, smirking.

-"Well, I..."

-"It's Ok, Lance, it's normal to feel that way the first time you use a Cloth of Gold. You don't feel like yourself. You feel like you're indestructible and you feel that way not without motive. The truth is, as long as you deserve it, you can wear and use any Cloth of Gold, regardless of your zodiac sign...However, only when the cloth of Gold matches your zodiac sign can it's true power be released. Should you wear any other cloth of gold, your cosmos will suffer an incredible power up but the power up will be even greater when your cosmos is in complete sync with the cosmos of the Cloth of Gold...And that only occurs if the zodiac signs match!"

-"I see...Shion-sama...what should I do now?"

Lance felt stupid asking that question. He had attained what he most desired...the symbol of his freedom...the most powerful weapon available to mortals...And now he felt...so aimless...

-"You will fulfill your duty to the Sanctuary, of course. But I understand your confusion, Lance. The truth is, you never received a proper Saint's education. Kerberus Kastiel never had faith in you and quite frankly neither did anyone else. You were sent to Mount Olympus to DIE...Yes, Lance, it is true and you know it so don't look at me like that. Ever since then, you've surpassed everyone's expectations time after time and...I think it's about time someone teaches you what being a Saint is really all about."

-"Shion-sama, no offense but,...if I have become a Saint of Gold...who would be my master?"

Shion chuckled.

-"He,he,he...Lance...you will become the student of the only person fit to teach you and earn your respect...Libra Dohko, the Old Master of the mountains of Rozan, in China."

-"Libra Dohko?"- muttered Lance

Lance had heard about the Old Master several times before, but he never actually met him. He had heard that he was actually a Saint of Gold and now the Pope himself was admittinig it. Lance folded his arms, thinking...

-"So he really is a Saint of Gold, huh?"- he asked

-"Yes. The Saint of Libra. You will depart for Rozan as soon as tomorrow at 12am."

-"But..."

-"Don't worry. I know that you and the Andromeda Saint care and worry about each other...Much like brothers, right?"

Lance did not answer...

-"You will be able to see each other as often as you like...You are a Saint of Gold, after all. Your authority now is near supreme in the Sanctuary, Lance. As long as you don't go against your new master's advice, or even order, you may visit him at will."

_-"Near supreme?"-_thought Lance.

Shion was right. As a Saint of Gold, his authority was third only to Shion and Dohko. He was above the Saints of Silver! He was a commander!

-"Lance..."- said Shion, placing his hands on Lance's new, golden shoulder caps-"Go home and rest. Finish whatever business you have left and sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day for you..."

Shion then placed his mask and helmet once again in his head and walked away from Lance towards his throne.

-"Yes, Shion-sama!"- he said-"I will!"

Lanced then picked up the Golden Cancer box and left the building, heading towards the the Gold Zodiac. Shion sat on his throne and saw Lance closing the great, wooden door behind him.

_-"Lance..."- _he thought_-"I'm counting on you...I know you will do great things!...And I sincerely hope that you never regret them..."_

Later that day, in the inn...

-"So you're leaving, huh?"- said Shinta, with a sad tone.

-"Hey..."- said Lance, putting his hands on the Bronze Saint's shoulders-"Don't worry...I'm still me..."

Shinta still looked sad. Lance decided to bring out the big guns...

-"I'm still your big brother, you know?"- Lance said-"Only that I'm a Saint of Gold now."

Emerald eyes met red eyes as Shinta heard those words.

-"Plus..."- Lance continued as his hands left Shinta's shoulders-"I'm not gonna be there forever and we may visit each other whenever we want."

-...Niichan..."- muttered Shinta

-"...What is it, little brother?"

Suddenly, Shinta practicaly jumped at Lance, encasing Lance's chest in a powerful bear hug

-"I can't believe you're a Saint of GOLD!"- he said with a cheerful smile-"That is so great!"

Lance blushed and sweatdropped at the same time. He wasn't used to this kind of affection, even if it was Shinta's innocent brother-to-brother affection...He was also surprised he took so long to react to the new of his "promotion" in a affectionate way as well as his sudden mood change...Lance had already placed the Cloth of Gold inside the box, meaning he was enduring the full force of Shinta's "mushiness" without any sort of protection...

-"And now..."- Shinta continued, his voice suddenly trembling-" And n-now you're...you're leaving..."

Lance looked down at Shinta, who was still hugging him. The younger Saint was shacking...Lance couldn't see it directly because of the Saint's hair but he knew Shinta was crying on his chest...Lance placed his hand on Shinta's head and the other one on his back.

-"It's okay..."- he said-"...Let it all out...You're going to be fine, little brother..."

Shinta let go of Lance and rubbed his tearful eyes with his hands to dry them. Lance felt terrible...He _hated _to see his "little brother" cry! It tore him apart! He also hated the idea of leaving Shinta behind like this! But Lance knew that it was for the best...

-"Hey, listen..."- said Lance-"I'm not going to leave before tomorrow. What do you say we go out there and hang out for old times sake?...I'll let you try out the Gold Cloth if you want!"

Shinta looked at Lance and smiled, his eyes still redenned by the crying, his cheeks still marked by the tears...

-"Okay, Niichan!"- he said cheerfully

The two of them then left the room, Cloth boxes on their backs, smiling...

Chapter End

_"...I remember that everytime I looked at Lance I always felt the same twirl of emotions...Anger, trust, hatred, concern...Over time it became easier to digest all that confusion and I like to believe that I managed to be his friend for a while...before the end..."_

- excert found in Sagittarius Seiya's Journal


	9. The old master

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

I'm serious! Please review...Pretty please...?

OCs up until now, which, by the way, I own: Pegasus, Kentaurus, Cancer Lance(MC); Kerbererus Kastiel(NMPA); Heracles Aguilon(NMPA);Sagitta Nam(NMPA); Andromeda Shinta; Only a few more to come

MC: Main character

NMPA: No More Predicted Appearances (does not include any potential mentions)

PLEASE READ THIS BELOW

PS: In account for any future incoherence with the actual story by Masami Kurumada (mainly the characters age, specially those of the Saints of Gold, and amount of time between the Arcs), there WILL BE a few modifications to coincide with the facts in my fanfic!

_"By the time of Abaddon's death, Lance was considered by allies and enemies alike to be the most powerful human to ever walk the Earth. However, it is still quite ironic that a Saint like Lance, who was born hating Athena and spent almost half of his life trying to kill her, ended up being the only Saint ever able to truly capture the Goddess's love...That, even now, is something that still confuses me..."_

-in _"The Sacred Saints of Athena_", by Libra Shiryu (2007)

Chapter 9- The Old Master

Lance sat on the wooden floor of the dining room of the small house, legs folded, sharing a cup of tea with his new master, Libra Dohko, the old master of Rozan. Dohko was really nothing like Lance expected: he was very small, even dwarfish, with purple skin and wearing a classical chinese hat and a green robe. His mustache, eyebrows and beard were very long ang white, further contributing to the image of helpless old man already inspired by his size and wrinkles. Lance, for starters, imagined him to be much taller and having a normal skin tone, not to mention having the Gold Libra Cloth by his side at all times. Lance himself refused to part with the Cancer Gold Cloth Box, carrying it on his back all the time except when it would be rude or inconvenient, like right then.

_-"I guess this is why they called him the Old Master..."- _thought Lance, taking a sip of his tea.

The room was simple, possessing only a small, short, square table in which the cups of tea were resting and the white walls lacked any decoration besides a few red lines and closed, wooden windows. Shion had sent a note to Lance containing directions to the Old Master's house and the great waterfall as well as a reminder to respect, obey and, above all do not underestimate Dohko prior to him abbording the ship that would take him to Macau. From there, Lance made his way to the mountains and eventually found the small house. He simply knocked on the door and heard a voice from inside telling him to enter and before he knew it, he was having tea with the old man. Lance found it hard to believe that behind the disguise of an old man lied the enourmous, awesome power of a Gold Saint Veteran but he supposed that was what Shion meant with not underestimating Dohko. Lance had placed the golden box at the right side of the table while he and the master were sitting in opposite directions...Dohko was calmly drinking his tea, seemingly undisturbed by Lance's presence, and Lance decided to enjoy the tea as well, diverting his thoughts from the old man odd appearance. After finishing their drinks, both Gold Saints put down their cups on the table and Dohko decided to speak:

-"So you are Lance?"

-"Yes, Dohko-sama."

-"I see...I already received a message from the Sanctuary announcing your arrival but I wanted to know more about you, Lance, from your own mouth. Tell me, where do you come from?"

Lance hesitated for a moment...Was this old man serious? Since when did people aside from Shinta care about where did he came from? Nevertheless, Lance decided to answer, not wishing to disrespect his new teacher:

-"Dohko-sama...I do not know where do my true origins lie...I have been told that my parents were foreigners who suffered an accident in Athens...Beyond possible recognition, my parents's identity became a complete mystery..."

-"Then...how is it that you have received a name?"

-"...I lived in a athenian orphanage until the age of 10...A Silver Saint found me there and brought me to the Sanctuary, where he named me Lance...The people at the orphanage called me a name that, quite frankly, I can no longer remember..."

-"So you have no last name, no homeland and no family..."

Lance suddenly felt awkward...His lack of any sort of real identity never seemed to bother him...But when Dohko put things like that, he couldn't help but feel a little...sad.

-"Yes..."- said Dohko-"You are quite a mystery Lance...One could say you fell from the skies...I heard that you trained in Mount Olympus, to attain the Pegasus Bronze Cloth within 8 years under the penalty of death...a feat you accomplished in just 6 years...How do you fell about your training?"

-"...I feel like I survived it rather than passed it...I trained on my own, using the little knowledge Kerberus Kastiel gave me to live through those years..."

-"Yes, but how do you FEEL about those days? Angry? Resentful? Thankful?"

Lance grunted a little, looking at the empty cup on the table, before answering:

-"...I feel...angry...I feel that what kept me alive was my sole desire to be stronger..."

-"And tell me, Lance...why do you have such a burning desire to get stronger?"

Lance looked back at the old master with a mix of surprise and interrogation on his look. Why did he want to get stronger? What kind of question was that? To get more powerful, of course...Lance hesitated...

_-"Why do I want to get more powerful?"- _he thought to himself

He then thought about his first days in the Sanctuary, training harder and longer than any other child...What did he want with all of that? Isn't it natural for a human to desire to get stronger? Then again,...all those other kids and Bronze Saints and Silver Saints also wanted to get stronger...Why was he special? Why did he have so much more will to train than the others? Lance thought about the cold nights in Mount Olympus...Back then what drove him was the Cloth of Pegasus and it's power. After he acquired it, he felt empty...He then thought about when he acquired the Cancer Gold Cloth...after dealing with all the feelings of ecstasy of becoming a Saint of Gold, Lance found himself wondering what he would do then...

-"I...I think..."- he answered-"I think that I used to want to get free from the Sanctuary and it's authority...and because of that, I did my best to become a Saint of Gold as soon as possible...But then, as I became Kentaurus Lance and then Cancer Lance...I felt more...tied to the Sanctuary...Not knowing what to do and not being so sure I wanted to forsake the Sanctuary anymore...I thought I would find the answer after becoming a Saint of Gold...after becoming more powerful...But now I feel like I've only got more lost."

-"Lance...do you know why is that?"

-"Why?"

-"Lance...do you think that, over the years, you've learned to value the Sanctuary and it's calling?"

-"I...I guess I have, but..."

-"Lance...you are lost because you can't come in terms with your desire to be free and your new desire to follow the Sanctuary...You are proud Lance. You do not like to believe that you have been influenced by others, especially in a good way...I can tell that by the simple fact that you, after acquiring the Pegasus Cloth, went right after the only man to whom you owed anything, Kastiel, and challenged him."

Hearing those words, Lance realised that this man was far wiser than he looked. Lance didn't like to admit it, but Dohko had him all figured out.

-"Even now, Lance..."- said Dohko-"...I can see it in your eyes that you hate depending on others. You knew that, regardless of the fact that Kastiel left you in that mountain, he still gave you the basic tools to survive there...You hate the fact that, without him, you would have never come this far..."

Lance staggered...The old man was right...

-"..And because of that..."- the old man continued-"You challenged him to prove to yourself that you no longer needed him and that you could let go of the memory of Kastiel and conserve your pride...And you accomplished that. But , now, you are going to have to let go of your pride...And admit that you have become a Saint of Athena..."

-" A Saint of Athena?"

-"Yes...Your pride blinds you, Lance. You hate Athena because the Sanctuary condemned you to a harsh life of training and battle and, because of that, you have developed a desire to be free from it. Unless you let go of your pride, Lance, you will never be able to embrace the growing desire within you to protect the Sanctuary and you will always be lost..."

-"I will always...be lost?"

-"Yes. This is my first lesson to you, Lance. Let go of your hate...Let go of your pride...And, I promise you, you will see the way out of the mist that you have lost yourself into."

Was he right? Was he simply too proud to see things as they were? To see that...he wanted to protect the Sanctuary? Had he changed that much? Lance thought about his missions for the Sanctuary, back when he was still known as Pegasus Lance...Back when he met Shinta...At first he thought he just wanted to protect the boy but...maybe Dohko was right...Lance looked at Dohko, who looked outside and saw that night was falling...

-"It's getting late. We can talk more later. You can rest inside the house...it is small but there is more than one bedroom. Tomorrow begin your new lessons..."

-"Thank you, Dohko-sama!"

Dohko nodded and got up, hands within sleeves.

-"Lance...I believe you have a lot of potential...I know you will become a strong, respectful Saint of Gold...The Pope shares with me that conviction..."

-"Dohko-sama..."

-"Go rest, Lance. You'll have a big day tomorrow..."

Six months later...

Rain poured down on the rocky bridge and the two Saints of Gold locked hands, gritting teeth, eyes narrowed. A thunder was heard as the rejuvenated Libra Dohko and Cancer Lance expanded their golden auras, their cloths shining like stars in front of the roaring waterfall. After a while of struggle, they broke contact, each jumping away from the other. Lance, as soon as he landed his first foot, immediatly jumped back at Dohko, letting out a war cry as he delivered countless lightning-fast punches and kicks which Dohko, with considerable effort, somehow managed to block. The struggle continued as Lance slowly backed his master into a corner and the younger Saint saw a opening in his master's defences which he used to hit the Libra's saint armoured gut with his greaved foot. Dohko staggered in pain as his air was forced out of his chest but then delivered a powerful counter punch which threw Lance to the ground a few meters away. Dohko panted heavily as he watched the exhausted, floored Lance struggling to get up. Both Saints were protected by their respective Gold Cloths, so the cold didn't really bother them that much, but after spending a whole day training body, mind and soul, a man, no matter how strong he is, gets tired and every little thing becomes taxating...

-"Lance..."- he said, panting and with a weak smile-"...Come on...We've been... practicing for 18 hours already...I think...I think it's time to take...to take a break, huh?"

The trembling Lance slowly got on his right knee, before falling again due to sheer exhaustion, letting out a small cry of exhaustion. Their cloths were damaged, their bodies were bruised, even bleeding in some places, and they were both completely drained, not to mention completely soaked by the rain. Dohko turned his back on Lance, right hand in hurting left arm, to go get something for them to eat when he suddenly heard:

-"W-wait!"

Dohko stopped. He turned around and saw, his gaze suddenly widening, as Lance slowly got up on both feet, his golden aura flaring violently. A golden lightining suddenly sparked from it, scaring Dohko for an instant.

-"L-let's...k-keep going!"- he managed to say.

Lance managed to gather enough strenght to look at his master, his red eyes narrowed, his mouth smirking as much as it still could. A nervous sweat ran down Dohko's cheek.

-"_Incredible!"-_thought Dohko_-"He just won't give up!"_

Dokho reassumed his fighting pose. Lance gave him a weak smile before both of them charged their cosmos to the max, yelling in unison. Lance exploded into action and dashed towards Dohko, delivering a punch that was blocked by the left Libra Shield. The two then exchanged punches and kicks, trying to hit the other while dodging or blocking as many blows as possible. After a while, Lance took advantage of their proximity and unleashed his trump card:

-"CANCER BURST!"

Lance released a single cosmic explosion towards all directions, hitting Dohko at point-blank range. Dohko was thrown into the air until his armoured back collided with a rocky wall at the end of the natural bridge, then falling to the floor. Dohko noticed that Lance was running towards him and decided to finish things. Getting up, he threw his right chained Libra Shield which flew towards Lance. The Cancer Gold Saint, however, saw this coming and fell to his left knee, dodging the chained disk, which passed just above his left shoulder. Lance then grabbed the chain with his left hand, stopping it's motion using the friction of his golden glove. He then grabbed the chain with both hands and, with a mighty pull, Lance forced Dohko's whole body into the air, heading towards him.

-"BLOCK THIS!"- said Lance- "CANCER FLAME ATTACK!"

Lance unleashed the massive torrent of flames with his right fist which flew towards the still flying Dohko. The master only had time to place his left shield before him before he was completely swallowed by the flames.

-"Gyaaaaaahhh!"- Dohko screamed.

As the flames died, Dohko fell on the floor before Lance, face first, his golden helmet protecting his head from the impact before it fell, revealing Dohko's brown, soaked hair. The headpiece rolled through the bridge until it finally fell over, swallowed by the waterfall and landing in the botton of the lake far below. Lance crackled his left fist, placing it in a chop position, before enveloping his hand, wrist and forearm with a thin layer of golden cosmos, turning his upper limb into a deadly blade.

-"CANCER BLADE!"- he yelled, before descending his hand upon his fallen master.

Dohko quickly reacted, rolling to his back and placing his remaining shield before him, blocking Lance's deadly impact caused Lance's hand to tremble despite the thin cosmic barrier around it, such was the strenght of the golden shield. Lance knew it was useless to struggle against the golden shield and quickly retreated his hand before Dohko fired from his fist a golden blast of cosmos which nearly beheaded Lance, forcing the younger Saint to jump away from his master, who got up and placed himself in a fighting stance. Both were panting heavily.

_-"Lance's power has grown so much..."- _thought Dohko, as Lance also assumed his battle stance_-"When I first met him I knew he had an enourmous potential, but I never thought he would ascend to THIS level..."_

Dohko then noticed that Lance was getting tired, panting more heavily,trembling more...and focusing his cosmos in his legs and arms...

-"CANCER...CHARGE FIST!"

Reaching the speed of light, Lance's body charged against his master, both fists packed with energy so that Dohko wouldn't be able to tell which one would attemt to punch him until the very last moment...Dohko grunted:

_-"I didn't want to use this..."- _he thought_-" But I have to finish this before one of us gets really hurt..."_

Lance thrust his right fist forward, which came to an inch of Dohko before the master made his move:

-"ROZAN"- he yelled, an image of a dragon appearing behind him along with that of an ascending waterfall-"SHORYUHA!"

Dohko ducked slightly, dodging Lance's punch, and his right fist crashed with the Cancer Cloth chestplate in a almighty uppercut to the gut, carrying the power of a dragon and releasing a thunder-like roar upon impact. Lance gasped for breath and blood flowed from his mouth as he felt his belly being crushed. For a second, they stood still, Dohko's right fist lodged in Lance's torso and Lance's right arm stretched above the head of the crouched Dohko. As Lance lost the remaining strenght he had and his arm fell on his master's shoulder, exhausted, Dohko, elevated his fist with a yell, launching Lance into the air, followed by an image of a dragon who seemingly swallowed Lance before disappearing completely. Lance fell down the bridge, his body crashing with the lake's surface, defeated. Dohko widened his gaze when he realized what he had done.

-"LANCE!"- yelled Dohko at the lake.

Dohko immediatly jumped from the rocky bridge and dove into the lake, following his fallen student. Dohko searched for a while before he found Lance, unconscious, laying on the bottom of the lake. Dohko grabbed Lance by the wrist and pulled him out of the water, carrying the youth's left arm around the back of his neck. He layed Lance on the lake side and examined his student's body for any fall injuries or respiratory problems. Relieved to find nothing, Dohko allowed himself a breath of relief, before sitting next to Lance. He then looked at the lake and saw his golden headpiece floating on it's surface. Sighing, Dohko returned to the water and recovered his helmet before heading back to Lance's side. A thunder was heard at the distance and Dohko brought Lance's body back to the house, both of them completely soaked and freezing. As soon as he dropped Lance on the floor of the dining room, Dohko sat on the floor, his back against the wall and facing Lance, panting, also completely exhausted.

_-"Someday...this kid is going to get me killed..."- _he thought, looking at Lance_-"But...I never seen so much improvement in so little time...Each time I fight him, I can sense his strenght growing...His fighting skills are also improving...It won't be that long before he's as good as me...I just hope I can teach him to be a better person than he already is by then..."_

Dohko heard the rain crashing on his house's roof, heavy. He lit the fire place and placed Lance's body by it to warm him up. Dohko also allowed himself some moments of warmth, watching over the sleeping Lance, before he went to get some bandages for the both of them...

End of chapter

_"Only a handful of opponents ever managed to defeat Lance, or at least, stand up to him in power...Abaddon, my old master Libra Dohko, the Daemon Specter, the Saints of Gold, Athena, Hades, Poseidon, my good friends Sagittarius Seiya and Leo Ikki...And even they only managed to keep him down for a while...It really is quite sad how things turned out..."_

_-_in _"The Sacred Saints of Athena", _by Libra Shiryu (2007)


	10. Rozan Shoryuha and Lance's desire

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

I'm serious! Please review...Pretty please...?

OCs up until now, which, by the way, I own: Pegasus, Centaur, Cancer Lance; Kerberus Kastiel(NMPA); Heracles Aguilon(NMPA);  
Sagitta Nam(NMPA); Andromeda Shinta; Only a few more to come

NMPA: No More Predicted Appearances (does not include any potential mentions)

BTW I will not give Lance the same sign as mine. I'm Acquarius. You will find that I will give Lance a completely different constellation.

PLEASE READ THIS BELOW

PS: In account for any future incoherence with the actual story by Masami Kurumada (mainly the characters age, specially those of the Saints of Gold, and amount of time between the Arcs), there WILL BE a few modifications to coincide with the facts in my fanfic!

Note: The Melee Mode of the Eruption technique was inspired by a particular anime visual effect usually played when two physical or weapon attacks clash with each other. I remember seeing this effect in the GBA version of Super Robot Taisen OG 2's TK Burst Slash in the background as the SRX performed the second slash. I also remember seeing this in a foreshadowing flashback during the Sanctuary Arc showing the Gemini Saint killing Pope Shion with a punch. +1 geek point if you can figure out which visual effect I'm talking about. For the Pillar Mode( not shown in this chapter), it was inspired by both DB Tien's Kikoho and Piccolo's hyper explosion attack.

* * *

_"It's more than just pride or arrogance, it's...it's just more than that..."_

_-_Libra Dohko, regarding Lance's attitude towards other's teachings

Chapter 10- Rozan Shoryuha: Lance's desire for individuality

1 year and a half later...

-"Damn it, Lance, you can't beat me like this!"- yelled the young Libra Dohko

Lance cleaned the blood off his mouth and grunted. Once again they were sparring on top of the rocky bridge and Dohko had the advantage. Dohko himself had a few bruises but he was completely dominating the fight. It wasn't like Lance didn't grew stronger...Quite the opposite, really. He was more powerful in body, mind and soul, not to mention more mature...But there was something that was causing him to lose...

-"CANCER CHARGE FIST!"- yelled Lance

-"ROZAN...SHORYUHA!"- yelled Dohko

The two attacks clashed for the millionth time and, like always, Dohko emerged victorious. Hitting Lance's chin with a powerful uppercut, Dohko forced his student's body to rise into the air and be devoured by the image of a dragon,...for the millionth time...Lance fell on his back on the bridge, blood coming out of both edges of his lips. He got up again, trembling a little, but keeping his rage in check. The days of the rageful Lance were over (not that they ever cost him too many victories), replaced by the days of a Lance whose mind has been tempered by twoyears of meditation and spiritual training. Even so, Dohko detected a hint of frustration in Lance's eyes drowning in a red pool of sharp determination as the younger Saint prepared himself for round 7...

-"You stubborn idiot!"- accused Dohko-"I'm growing tired of this, Lance. I know you know how to use the Rozan Shoryuha! It's the only way you'll ever beat me!"

-"...I can't..."- he answered, eyes shadowed.

-"YES, YOU CAN! I've seen you doing it, Lance!Why are you acting like this?"

Dohko was refering to an episode that ocurred a few weeks before in which he caught Lance performing the Ascending Dragon Blow repeatedly, as if trying to improve it. It was the day he realized that Lance, for some reason, knew how to perform the attack but refused to invert the course of the waterfall...

-"Lance!"- resumed Dohko-"Why won't you use the technique?"

-"Isn't it obvious? It's dangerous! It leaves a huge opening to the heart which the power output doesn't even compensate!"

-"The power would be more than enough to compensate the technique's weakness if you reversed the course of the current of Rozan's Waterfall! It's the only way, Lance! The only way to unlock it's true power! By taking within yourself the great power of the Dragon of Rozan! Why won't you do it?"

Lance didn't answer...From below, next to the house, Andromeda Shinta watched Lance's final match with his master. Should he win, Lance would graduate and be done with Dohko-sama's training. All he had to do was beat his master for the first time... Shinta was now 2 years older, having grown slightly taller and matured, though his personality, as Lance thanked the heavens for, had remained unchanged.

_-"Oni-chan..."- _he thought_-"Why won't you follow Dohko-sama's advice?..."_

The sun was shining brightly, it's light reflecting on the lake below and on the waterfall to Dohko's right, forming a multitude of small rainbows and multicolored streaks of light. The two Gold Cloths didn't fall much behind in beauty, taking within themselves the light of the sun, waiting for the day it would be used...Dohko sighed and placed himself in a fighting pose...

-"So this is how it is, then..."- he said-"You don't leave me any choice..."

Lance focused his attention on his master.

-"Lance."- continued Dohko-"Prepare yourself! For you have turned this exam into a battle to the death!"

-"What?"- asked Shinta from below.

-"Dohko-sama..."- muttered Lance, looking at the ground.

-"Kill me, Lance!"- threatened Dohko-"Because, if you don't, you shall be killed!"

_-"He's trying to force oni-chan to use the Rozan Shoryuha with the waterfall...!"- _thought Shinta-"Lance! Don't fight him!"

-"It's ok, Shinta..."- muttered Lance, though the young Saint managed to somehow hear despite the roaring waterfall-"It had to come to this..."

Lance placed himself in a fighting pose, his eyes void of emotion, simply staring at his opponent. Shinta's heart was fillen with concern. Dohko only smiled:

-"Good...At least I managed to teach you how to be a true Saint of Gold."

-"You've thought me a lot more than that, Dohko-sama..."

Both Dohko and Lance started focusing their cosmos, the Libra and Cancer cloths shining with enhanced strenght as they slowly climbed towards their peaks. Shinta, deciding to disregard Lance's words, started running towards one of the paths leading to the bridge from Dohko's house. Reaching about half the way, Shinta jumped from there to the top of the bridge, landing a few meters behind Dohko and facing Lance and the old master's back.

-"Lance, Stop!"- he yelled

-"Shinta, get out of here!"- ordered Lance

-"No! I won't stand idly by and watch you two kill each other!"

-"This doesn't concern you!"

-"Of course it does!"- said Shinta, eyes getting tearful-"This is dangerous, Lance! You could get hurt!"

-"What do you care?"

Shinta gasped a little...a tear finally falling down his cheek...

-"Nichan...how can I not care?...

Lance grunted, realizing what he had done...again...

-"Dammit..."- he muttered-"_What's wrong with me?"_

-"You should be focusing on ME, Lance!"- warned Dohko-"But since you gave me an opportunity to reach my peak before you did yours, I'll happily accept it!"

-"Nani...?"

Dohko charged at the speed of light, catching Lance by surprise, who only reacted in the last moment by placing both his arms in front of his face, blocking the elbow stryke. Dohko's hand reached for Lance's shoulder and the Cancer Saint found himself being pulled towards his master by the painful grip, being hit by a powerful knee blow to the gut. Lance gasped for breath and fell to his knees, allowing Dohko to hit him with a strong kick that sent him falling to his back.

-"NICHAN!"- yelled Shinta

Lance opened his eyes but was too late. A foot descended on top of him, hitting his belly and pinning him to the ground. Suddenly, Dohko pulled out a Libra Spear seemingly out of nowhere and aimed it at Lance's neck, preparing himself to stab it. Lance reacted for the first time by punching the side of the foot pinning him, forcing it to slip to the right and crash on the floor, causing Dohko to lose a little balance. Lance quickly ascended and grabbed the shaft of the spear with both hands, contesting it's possession with Dohko. The two pulled to their respective side for a while before Lance headbutted the old man, forcing the latter's left hand to let go of the spear and grab his bloody nose. The remaining hand lost it's grip on the weapon when the base of Lance's right foot crashed with Dohko's belly, causing the master to take a few steps back and gasp for breath. Lance immediatly tried to impale the elder Saint but the tip of his trident crashed with the right Libra Shield, shattering both weapons.

The golden shattered pieces of the shield and the tip of the Libra spear fell on the rocky bridge, causing Lance to stagger a little with surprise. Dohko then pulled out a Libra nunchunk, which wrapped it self around the spear's shaft and, grabbing each tip of the nunchuck with a hand, Dhoko pulled the trident away from Lance, which spinned throught the air for a whlie before landing next to Shinta's feet. This time, however, it was Lance's turn, who tackled the old man to the ground and causing his weapon to fall down the bridge to the lake, causing a small splash as it crashed with the watery surface. Sitting on top of Dhoko's fallen body, Lance took advantage of their positions to try to punch Dohko's face. His fist, however, collided with the remaining Libra Shield, causing his left gauntlet's front to break and reveal his knunkle knots, while the golden obstacle remained intact. Movong the shield away from his face, Dhoko's fist rose and hit Lance's left cheek. Both his hands then grabbed Lance's shoulders and Dohko brought his head up in a vengeful headbut, hitting Lance's chin and missing his nose because Lance had enough reflexes to incline his head up. It still hurt his jaw, hence why Lance was stunned for a split second, which Dohko used to bring his hands up, grab each side of the thin bridge and pull his way from below Lance's body. Once his legs had enough space to move, Dohko raised them in a almightly kick, hitting Lance's chin one more time and causing the student to fall forward, though he stopped his descent with his left hand on the ground. Rubbing his chin with the other hand, Lance got up and barely dodged a spinning Tong Fa blow by ducking, which was a bad move because Libra Dohko's leg rushed forward and collided with his chest, sending Lance flying for a while before landing on his back.

Immediatly sensing Dohko's steps towards him and refusing to pinned down once again, Lance ignored the pain on his chest and got up:

_-"I need a chance to gather my cosmos!"- _he thought.

This time, two spinning Tong Fas attacked him, descending upon him with the intention of performing a cross-slash, though missing when Lance jumped away from his master. With renewed distance, Lance rushed towards his master, who brought the left Tong Fa upwards in a diagonal blow.

-"CANCER BLADE!"- yelled Lance

His right forearm and hand were wrapped in golden cosmos, forming a deadly which managed to block the ascending Libra Weapon. Lance's arm trembled with the impact and went slightly numb, as blocking a Libra Weapon's blow with one' bare hands, even when it was shielded by cosmos, was a risky move at the least and Lance thanked the heavens for his arm not suffering more damage than it did. While still blocking the Weapon, and enveloping his other limb with cosmos, Lance caught the shaft of the Okinawan Libra Weapon, using the thin layer to resist the spinning impact of the attack and locking both weapons at the same time.

_-"He can move his fingers while using the Blade technique?"- _Dohko thought, intrigued and surprised

-"I've got you now!"- bragged Lance

Dohko widened his eyes as his 7th sense detected Lance's cosmos flowing and rising once again.

_-"Smart move, Lance. You placed the both of us in this position so that you could have a chance to charge your cosmos without me attacking you and even the odds! But I'm not going to let you!"_

Dohko's knee rushed forward to attempt to interrupt Lance's plans but, to the master's surprise, Lance reacted in time and also raised a knee, blocking Dohko's and stucking them in a rather awkward, one-legged position...Lance smiled, his right hand quickly releasing the block on the left Tong Fa and instantly switching to a grip around the shaft, forming a far better lock. Both had their eyes narrowed and teeth gritting in effort and concentration, Lance using every second he got to charge his cosmos and Dohko trying to think of a way to stop him.

Dohko decided that he had no choice but to try to headbut Lance or try the Rozan Shoryuha at point-blank range, as, otherwise, he would risk losing the Tong Fas to his student. However, his plans were ruined before he even had a chance to execute them when Lance finally reached his cosmos's peak, let go of both weapons and yelled:

-"CANCER ERUPTION!"

A powerful uppercut followed by what seemed like a huge tunnel of golden cosmos hit Dohko's chin, sending his body through the air and causing one of the Libra Tong Fas to drop to the floor while the other fell down the bridge. The Melee Mode Eruption technique was an attack-strenghtening technique. Essentially, while performing a physical attack of any kind, Lance would fire a huge tunnel of cosmos as big as he was that followed the same direction of the attack. The result was a two-hit combo consisted of both the physical attack and the cosmic one. It was a technique that Lance masterd rather easily, being now able to use it after kicks, punches, knee and elbow strikes and even with a tackle. However, it consumed cosmos, though it was rather cost-effective when compared to most techniques, to the point that it could be used to form authentic combos of consecutive hits, though it was particularly efficient with uppercuts, as well as most ascending blows. It could also be used at long range as long as the cosmos was focused enough, which was why Lance took the time to train his aim with precise blasts. There was also the Pillar Mode, but he would rather not use it yet...

Dohko fell back on the bridge but, even though Lance had gone through the same countless times at the hands of his master's Shoryuha, he didn't felt any happier with his little revenge, which was surely a result of all the character building regiment that Dohko had him go through. Lance quikly grabbed the Tong Fa which fell on the bridge, placing himself in his usual fighting position, though, thid time, with the Tong Fa in his left hand, the main shaft pointed to his rear and protecting his forearm. Seeing that his master was taking his time to get back up, Lance allowed himself to breath a little, noticing that he was panting already, though sure his master was tired as well...

-"Nichan...don't give up!"- he heard Shinta say from the other side of the bridge

Lance looked past his master, who was getting on his feet, and saw that Shinta, despite what he said, was still rooting for him. Lance mentally thanked Shinta, promising to make it up for making him cry... Lance returned his attention to his master, who was already placed in a fighting pose, panting a little.

-"Nice trick, Lance!...(pant)"- he said, serious-"It honestly...(pant)...caught me by surprise...So this is what you've been working on all this time...(pant)... instead of mastering my technique..."

-"You're going to have to find... (pant) another student to master it...Because...(pant)...I'm not going to unlock it's power..."

Dohko narrowed his eyes.

-"I don't understand, Lance!"- he said, no longer panting so hard-"I thought you wanted to be stronger! To evolve! Why won't you want this?...If you unlocked the true power of my technique, you would take it within yourself and make it yours...Why are you darn...ARROGANT and stubborn? What are you afraid of, Lance? Of plagiarism? Because, if you are, then, let me tell you, that's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of!"

Lance remained silent, refusing to answer...Shinta knew Lance very well. He knew that Lance was proud. But to be proud to the point of refusing the help of a master he cared for and respected so much? Dohko was one of the very few people that both Lance and Shinta called "sama". One of the very few people that really cared for the both of them and one of the very few they both truly respected. He has been a mentor to Lance for the past two years, almost like a father (though Lance refused to admit it), and Shinta himself held the old man in a very high account, respecting him and following his every command, partially due to direct respect and partially for his "older brother's" sake, which was why Shinta simply couldn't understand Lance's attitute despite knowing him so well. Shinta decided to take a few steps back, sensing that the fight would reach the peak of it's intensity shortly...

-"I'm going to end this, Lance!"- threatened Dohko-"I'm tired of all this resistance! I'll make you use the technique whether you like it or not!"

Saying this, Dohko started waving his hand in the air a little, shaping a dragon with their movements. He then quickly, and rather forcefully, placed himself in a fighting pose in which his hands were in front of him, one palm facing the other and right hand a few inches above the left one, and his fingers were bent as if trying to shape animal claws. The sky seemed to darken a little and Lance saw a golden, flamish cosmic aura emerging from Dohko's body, who closed his eyes, concentrating. A image of a tiger, instead of a dragon, then emerged from behing him, twice as tall as he was, allowing Lance to instantly deduce that he was facing Dohko-sama's full power for the first time. Dohko opened his eyes, which were narrowed in seriousness and concentration, and the tiger's image faded away, allowing the day's luminosity to return to normal...

The old master shifted his pose, placing the remaining Libra Shield between himself and Lance, twisting his body a little to the right and closing his right fist which was raised in front of his inclined chest. Lance narrowed his eyes, realizing why Dohko used the right Libra Shield to block the Libra Trident earlier...

_-"He was saving the left Shield for this pose..."- _he thought_-"Looks like Dohko-sama didn't teach me everything he knows...With this tactic, he'll minimize the amount of time he's vulnerable while performing his technique..."_

Lance mantained his fighting pose, though tightening his grip around the Libra Tong Fa he was wielding.

_-"But he can never fully eliminate it"- _Lance's thoughts continued-_" The movement that causes the vulnerability is subconscious and, perhaps, impossible to avoid...He's going to use the shield to eliminate the gap in his defences...but he has to get it out of his way when he attacks! Otherwise the shield will get in the way of the fist. That means I'll only get my chance to attack once he's right in front of me...The Charge Fist is useless, then...The Burst doesn't have enough stopping power to counter the Rozan Shoryuha and both the Flame Attack and the Blade will need a minimum distance to be efficient...The Pillar Mode Eruption won't stop his movement before he hits me, but...the Melee Mode might distract him long enough for me too engage him at point-blank range...But the Tong Fa will get in the way of my plan..."_

Dohko roared a battle cry and dashed towards Lance, Libra Shield raised in front of his chest. Lance jumped high into the air, threw the Libra Tong Fa above his shoulder and punched the air towards his target:

-"ERUPTION BLAST... BARRAGE!"

A concentraded laser of cosmos was fired from his fist, exploding upon colliding with the ground in front of Dohko, who stopped his charged and aimed the shield at Lance, who, in turn, punched the air countless more times, releasing blasts of cosmos with each thrust. Dohko grunted as he withstood the enourmous barrage of blasts, some missing him, some hitting his shield, some deflecting in his cloth but always raising a lot of dust upon hitting something. Finally, Lance's hands enveloped themselves in golden veils of cosmos, joined each other above his head and, together, thrust themeselves in Dohko's direction, releasing an authentic barrage of golden blasts, which collided with Dohko and the area around him, raising even more dust into the air. It wasn't long before Dohko was completely enveloped by a huge cloud of smoke...

-"Take this!"- yelled Lance-" ERUPTION... NO KEN!"

Lance aimed the base of his foot at the cloud of smoke and immediatly descended upon it, enveloped by an authentic meteor of golden cosmos. Shinta only saw him entering the cloud of smoke and crash with something, followed by many sounds of fists and kicks and crashes which caused the cloud to twirl and twist as if roused by each impact. Suddenly, Dohko was projected out of the cloud, marely managing to land on his feet, chased by Lance who also emerged from the cloud, fists both enveloped in cosmos, and engaging his master in a fierce one-sided brawl, Lance punched Dohko's chest several times at lightning speed before his elbow crashed with the Libra Cloth's chestblade. Lance then grabbed his stunned master and threw Dohko into the air before jumping with enourmous ferocity towards him, completely wrapped in flamish cosmos, deciding to finish things with one final blow:

-"Finishing strike! CANCER ERUPTION!"

His fist once again raised in a almighty uppercut followed by a tunnel of pure power, hitting his master in mid-air and surpassing him in altitude before descending with a Eruption kick which crashed with Dohko's body, projecting him back to the ground with a lot of violence. His body bounced up a little after crashing, such was the force of the impact, before finally landing on the bridge for good. Lance landed in front of him, placing himself in a fighting pose, panting...

-"You won't beat me THAT easily, Dohko-SAMA!"

Dohko trembled a little as he tried to start moving...Shinta was astonished:

-"Onichan...you're losing control of yourself..."- he muttered, worried about both fighters...

Dohko, with some effort, got up again, legs still trembling a little...His cloth's chestplate had a huge, straight, diagonal mark across it, as if something failed to cut through it. The mark was left by Lance's ascending Cancer Eruption which, in truth, wasn't trying to pierce through his armor.

-"Good, Lance..."- said Dohko, eyes narrowed and a streak of blood falling down his chin from the edge of his lips-"...This is the real you! You can try to mask your true self through meditation and self restraint...but, you, Lance, are most powerful with your...emotions!"

Dohko reassumed his new fighting pose, once again shaping claws with his fingers. Images of galaxies emerged from nowhere and where taken into his body, somehow causing his cosmic aura to flare up. Lance prepared himself for a new round and Dohko dashed towards him, almost flying, shield once again in front of his chest. Lance roared:

-"CANCER ERUPTION! FULL POWER!"

Punching the air, Lance released a tunnel of energy as large as he was, which flew towards his master, engulfing him. Dohko's motion was completely stopped, his shield valiantly resisting the beam of cosmos, preventing it from unleashing it's fury on the old master. Dohko narrowed his eyes and yelled:

-"ROZAN...SHORYUHA!"

A dragon wrapped it's serpent body around Dohko's right arm and the old master moved the shield out of the way of the blast only to hit it with a almighty fist, the image of the dragon now bigger than he was and fighting against the golden tunnel. Dohko grunted as his efforts failed to pierce through Lance's attack, until, with one final push, Dohko yelled:

-"Great Dragons of ROZAN! Lend me your STRENGHT!"

Finally, Dohko punched through the golden tunnel, which was completly destroyed, and marched on towards Lance, still wielding all of that power in his arm. Lance was caught completely by surprise as the fist crashed with his guts with a devastating impact, causing the air around to vibrate and Lance to vomit blood.

-"ASCEND!"- yelled Dohko

Lance yelled in pain as his whole body was lifted into the air, climbing several meters before finally descending, though this time Lance was going to fall down the bridge. However, as Lance passed through the bridge's altitude, he had enough presence of mind to blindly reach out for a whole with his left hand, which, by miracle, managed to grab the edge of the rocky bridge. Lance was in a lot of pain...With that single blow, Dohko destroyed almost every hope he had to win. When the pain in his guts started to finally calm down, Lance tried to lift himself back into the bridge, managing to also grab it with his right hand before a golden greaved stomped his left one. Lance grunted in pain as Dohko looked down on him and applied weight to his student's hand.

-"LANCE!"- yelled Shinta, taking a step forward

-"Give up!"- said Dohko-"Or fall!"

-"No..."- muttered Lance, teeth gritting

Dohko's foot left Lance's hand, causing Lance to widen his eyes a little with surprise. Suddenly, a spinning, chained Libra Shield crashed on his fingers, tearing through their golden protection and breaking them. Lance yelled in pain and his hand, bloody, let go of the bridge, his body now only supported by the efforts of his right limb. Dohko smirked, picked up the shield from the ground, and prepared himself to break Lance's right hand fingers as well. Lance looked at that hand and saw that the protection around it was broken, reminding him that he punched the Libra Shield with that hand earlier.

_-"This one won't last as long..."- _he thought,closing his eyes, when, suddenly:

-"NEBULA CHAIN!"

A chain ending in a spear point pierced through the air, wrapping itself around Dohko's right arm, before starting to pull it. Dohko looked at his source and saw Shinta desperately trying to move the Old master's arm away from his friend. Dohko grunted and Lance widened his eyes, shocked.

-"Let go of me, Shinta!"- demanded Dohko

-"NO!"- he answered-"I'm not going to let you kill him!"

Lance's body trembled with the effort of sustaining itself:

-"Shinta...l-let got of him!You're...you're interfering! You can't...do that!"

-"NO, Onichan!This time, I'm going to help you...This time(grunts with effort)...I am going to save YOU!"

Lance widened his eyes, taken aback by Shinta's words. Dohko started pulling the chains, causing Shinta's feet to be slowly dragged. Shinta started focusing his cosmos, stopping his body's movement, and causing electricity to flow from his chains and try to shock Dohko's arm, who simply ignored it. Dohko grunted in frustration:

-"Shinta, as a Saint of Gold, I COMMAND you to release me at ONCE!"

-"Damn it, Shinta..."- muttered Lance, his fingers desperately trying to keep from slipping away-"Let...let go of him..."

-"Grrrr. If you don't let go..."- threatened Dohko, raising the Libra Shield-"...I'll force you!"

Dohko thrudt his right, chained arm towards the Andromeda Saint, throwing the spinning Libra Shield towards him with the intent of seriously harming the teenager if he didn't move. Shinta, however, was paralyzed by the sight of the weapon flying towards him...A golden spark flashed through Lance's red eyes as he saw what was about to happen and, filled with miraculous adrenaline, used his hand on the bridge to launch himself through the air, placing himself right in front of Shinta. Dohko and Shinta's eyes widen completely with utter shock as the Libra Shield suddenly crashed with the Cancer Cloth's chestplate with an incredible impact, tearing through it with it's incredible spin. Lance's body fell back...

-"ONICHAN!"- yelled Shinta

The chain around Dohko's arm relaxed completely, it's owner no longer focused on the task of controling them. Shinta, instead, caught a falling Lance in his arms and chest, stopping his descent. Shinta layed Lance on the floor, head in the Andromeda Saint's lap, who yelled his name:

-"LANCE! LANCE! WAKE UP! Please, wake up, Lance!"

Lance's eyes were indeed closed...blood coming out of each corner of his mouth and a huge shred cut in his cloth's chestplate. Shinta removed the Cancer headpiece and grabbed Lance's head with both hands:

-"Lance...please wake up..."- he muttered, a tear falling down from his eyes to Lance's cheek-"You...you saved me, Lance...You saved me again, didn't you?...When I was supposed to save you...This is all my fault!"

Another tear fell down his cheek and landed on Lance's forehead. Dohko himself was a little shocked by what just happened...Where did Lance find the strenght to jump all that distance?...Lance's eyes slowly opened, causing Shun's trembling mouth to slowly widen in a huge, dreamy smile:

-"LANCE! You're OK! I'm so happy you are ok!"

Lance then slowly got up, helped by Shinta, though almost falling down again when a huge pain flashed through his left hand and guts. Shinta gasped in concern but Lance conforted him:

-"It's ok, Shinta. I'm alright..."

Dohko was awestruck...Withdrawing his shield and placing it on his left wrist again, the fighter reassumed his Tiger pose. Lance met his narrowed eyes with an equally determined look. Shinta protested:

-"What? You're still going to fight?"

-"You helped Lance and now he even your interference by being hit by the Libra Shield."- said Dohko-" Were it not for your interference, he wouldn't be in this state but he would have probably fallen...It evens out!"

Shinta grabbed Lance's right shoulder:

-"Please don't fight, Lance! You can't use your left hand and you're hurt and tired!"

-"Shinta is right, Lance! What are you going to do?"

There was a moment of silence before Lance's shoulder shoved it's way out of Shinta's grip...

-"...I'm going to fight..."- he said

-"Lance, don't!"-ordered Shinta-"You need to rest!"

-"No, Shinta...I need to finish this..."

Lance took a step towards Dohko and away from Shinta, who resigned himself...The fight was about to come to an end...Lance placed himself in his fighting pose, though his left hand, broken, remained hanging next to his thigh. Dohko smirked at Lance, contemplating his pathetic state:

-"Hmph!"- he snorted-"Now, even if you use the fully powered Rozan Shoryuha, you won't beat me!"

Lance grunted in response and charged his cosmos as much as he still could. Dohko did the same and Shinta watched, praying for Lance's safety. The both flared up in golden cosmos.

-"Let's end this..."- muttered Dohko

Suddenly, Dohko charged at lightning speed, shield in front of chest, disappearing from sight, towards his student. Lance did the same, also disappearing from Shinta's sight. The two came within a inch of each other before Dohko unleashed his attack at full power:

-"ROZAN...SHORYUHA!"

Dohko's fist was engulfed in gold and green cosmos which shaped a gigantic dragon around his limb, though it seemed like it was around his whole body, and charged towards Lance. For a seemingly endless moment, Lance's complete attention was focused on the shield, who refused to get out of his way...He had to wait until the very last moment, which meant he only had one option...The shield moved away from the path of Dohko's cosmos-filled fist, enabling the master's attack, and Lance, finally seeing the opening he was waiting for, cried out:

-"ROZAN...SHIN SHORYUHA!"

Lance's aura seemed to completely explode in a blast of golden cosmos and fire, transforming into a golden dragon. Dohko didn't even realize what was happening and the two fists entered in colision route...The two attacks collided with an enourmous force, the impact sending several powerful shockwaves through the air which caused the bridge to shake, struggling against each other, a green meteor and a golden meteor trying to destroy one another. Suddenly, the golden meteor burst in size and pushed back the green one, which still managed to resist for a small instant, stopping the movement of both. The image of two dragons, a smaller, green one and a larger golden one(though both still enourmous), roaring at each other, emerged, before fading away as the Golden Dragon lent his shape to the golden meteor, which completely destroyed the green one.

-"ASCEND!"- someone yelled

The new Golden Dragon took off from the ground and flew towards the skies,roaring, bursting through a small cloud, before transforming into pure energy which exploded upwards like a backwards,golden lightning bolt, revealing Lance standing in the bridge with his fist rising in a uppercut and Dohko flying through the air, small golden shards of his cloth falling down as his whole body backfliped. Time seemed to slow down as Dohko fell to the floor, chest first. For a moment, Lance just stood there, fist still pointing to the sky...Shinta yelled his name and the Cancer Saint woke up to reality, looking at his master, which simply layed on the ground. Dohko then started trembling a little, gasping as his first attempt to rise failed. Then, still trembling terribly, Dohko managed to rise on one hand, his arm trembling as it supported his weight, his cloth filled with small cracks. Suddenly, blood cascaded from his mouth and Dohko almost fell again with the pain. Dohko maged to stand on both harms, eyes staring at the ground, his vision shacking a little...

-"That attack..."- he muttered

With a mighty effort, Dohko raised himself, now standing on trembling legs, looking at Lance, who panted heavily, his left hand still hanging while the right one was closed.

-"Now you see..."- said Lance, panting.

-"W-why, Lance?"- asked Dohko

-"This technique I used...It's nothing more than a compensation..."

-"C-compensation?...I see...I finally see what you were doing Lance..."

-"When we first met...you said I hated being influenced by others..."

Dohko remembered the conversaton...it seemed like it ocurred so long ago...

-"You said that it was because of pride..."- continued Lance-"...because of arrogance...it's more than arrogance, Dohko-sama...The reason why I won't accept this attack...the reason why I fought Kastiel..."

-"It's because..."- said Dohko-"...you want to forge your own path..."

-"...The Shin Shoryuha...I created it by accident while attempting to maximize the power output of the still unmastered technique...trying to discover what kind of power I would obtain...if I accepted the Great Dragon...without actually...doing IT...It's dangerous both to me and the opponent...It's very likely that my other techniques will grow far more powerful and efficient...and that I might never use it again...I only used it today...to..."

-"You wanted to show me...that if you wanted...you could...achieve the power... not because of arrogance...but because of your...desire...I see it now...I'm sorry, Lance..."

-"Dohko-sama..."

Dohko grunted in effort and in pain before passing out, falling to his knees and then to the ground. Both Lance and Shinta screamed his name and the Andromeda Saint rushed to his help...

Two days later...

-"Dohko-sama..."- said Lance, not knowing what else to say.

-"..."

-"..."

-"..."

-"..."

-"...I'm very proud of you, Lance."

-"What...?"

A warm feeling filled Lance's heart...They were both in the dining room, Shinta waiting outside for the results of Lance's evaluation. Dohko returned to his aged form and was sitting, legs folded, in front of the dining table, Lance standing, Cancer Cloth Box under the Libra Cloth Box on his back, facing his master. Dohko had to remain in his young state for the past few days so that his wounds would heal properly but now he seemed fine, lacking any kind of healing aid, such as bandages. Lance, however, had a cast wrapped around his left hand, which was still recovering from the enourmous damage caused by the Libra Shield, and bandages strapped to his chest beneath his blue shirt, covering the wound he suffered while protecting Shinta from Dohko's attack. The Cloths were also very damaged, particularly the Libra one and it's weapons, meaning that Lance would take both of them back to the Sanctuary to be repaired. All cosmos vests could regenerate, but there was a limit to that ability...

-"You have grown so much during these past two years, Lance"- continued Dohko-"I would like to continue watching you grow. But there are some things you need to learn by yourself..."

-"Master..."- said Lance, eyes shadowed

-"I know that you will accomplish great things, Lance. I can't say that I knew it from the start, for that would be a lie. But now I know...Two days ago, Lance, you proved to me how much of a Saint of Gold you already are...You placed your life on the line to save your friend without thinking twice about it, you defended your honor, your sense of pride and your sense of fairness and you demonstrated a kindness towards this old man that I probably didn't deserve after endangering Shinta..."

-"..."

-"You thought me a great lesson, Lance."

-"I...I did?"

-"Yes...You thought me that pride is not necessarily arrogance...and your pride is far more noble than I imagined...It took me two full days and nights to realize that all you wanted, Lance, was to be yourself...You don't want to be like Kastiel nor do you want to be like me, inheriting my techniques and adopting my beliefs...You created the Shin Shoryuha as a slightly perfected Rozan Shoryuha as a tribute to my teachings...because you didn't want to become me...I know see that you refused to reverese the current because you didn't want to bind your fate to the dragon of Rozan...And you are right. You have the right to be your own self! I was turning you into my replacement and you didn't want that."

-"Dohko-sama...I'm..."

Lance failed to stop a tear from falling down his cheek.

-"I've never seen you cry, Lance. Don't make this old man cry too, for there is nothing to be sad about..."

-"Dohko-sama"- said Lance, kneeling on the floor and bowing-"Thank you. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all that you've done for me...for all that you've thought me!"´

Dohko only smiled:

-"You can stand, Lance. You no longer need to obey me, for, from now on, whe are equals in rank...Gold Saint of Cancer"

Lance stood up and Dohko pulled from within his sleeve a letter with his seal which he handed over to Lance, who examined the letter. It was adressed to Pope Shion and the seal was that of the Libra Gold Cloth.

-"Lance, please do this old man one last favor and deliver that letter directly to my friend, the Pope Shion."

Lance bowed and answered:

-"I will, Dohko-sama!You have my word!...Goodbye, master!"

-"Goodbye Lance. And remember, hand it over yourself and be present to hear his answer."

Lance nodded and left the room, glancing one more time at his master before closing the door behind him with his good hand...

Chapter End

_"Lance's training under my master is said to be one of the happiest periods of his life. It's sort of flattering, now that think about it. It's also intersting to notice the fact that, while we trained under the same wonderful master...our lives turned out so different..."_

-in _"The Sacred Saints of Athena", _by Libra Shiryu (2007)


	11. The Gold Cloth of Myth: Teos!

Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in this fanfiction. This is a personal project, predicted to have about 130 chapters, which I will finish sometime before I die. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake. I am open to comments and ideas, though I already have the entire story pretty much planned to the detail. Also, it will be a while before any canonical character appears so, please, have patience.

I'm serious! Please review...Pretty please...?

OCs up until now, which, by the way, I own: Pegasus, Centaur, Cancer Lance; Kerberus Kastiel(NMPA); Heracles Aguilon(NMPA);  
Sagitta Nam(NMPA); Andromeda Shinta; Only a few more to come

NMPA: No More Predicted Appearances (does not include any potential mentions)

BTW I will not give Lance the same sign as mine. I'm Acquarius. You will find that I will give Lance a completely different constellation.

PLEASE READ THIS BELOW

PS: In account for any future incoherence with the actual story by Masami Kurumada (mainly the characters age, especially those of the Saints of Gold, and amount of time between the Arcs), there WILL BE a few modifications to coincide with the facts in my fanfic!

Notes: Teos is to be pronounced like "daos", such as the "aos" in "chaos"!

* * *

_"Lance's cloth is unique in countless ways...The most powerful weapon a mortal can weild, the reason of it's creation is a mistery even today...Only three other people aside from Lance have ever used it and it's true power far surpasses that of the Sagittarius Gold Cloth...You will never find among humans a more powerful armor, for it's destiny is to save the world from evil..."_

_-_Libra Dohko, to the Saints of Bronze, regarding Lance's Cloth

* * *

Chapter 11- The Gold Cloth of Myth

-"You're going to have to return to the inn."- Lance told Shinta, smiling-"You know that Bronze Saints can't enter the Gold Zodiac unless it's an emergency or when under someone's command, don't you?"

-"Yeah."-he answered, cheerfully-"But I figured that, since we are at peace right now and you are a Saint of Gold, you could escort me there."

The two friends laughed, standing before the stairs leading to the entrance of the Temple of Aries, the hot, mediterranean summer sun burning above them. Lance was going to deliver the two damaged Gold Cloths on his back to the Pope's halls to be repaired, as well as the letter that Libra Dohko entrusted him with. Suddenly, Lance's laughter was cut short by a flash of pain that ran through his chest, turning his smile into a hurting frown...His insides were still hurting after his fight with his master, the most obvious sign being the cast that was still around his left hand.

-"Lance, are you ok?"- asked Shinta, worried.

-"Yeah...I'm fine"- he said, a smile returning to his face-"I guess I won't be able to laugh for a little while...ha,ha."

-"Let me check your bandages..."

-"No, it's alright. I feel fine, really. I'm just going to have to take it easy with my chest for a while."

-"...I'm sorry, Lance. You got hurt because of me..."

-"Hey, don't sweat it!"- said Lance, rubbing Shinta's green hair, messing it up, with his good hand.

-"Nichaan!"- complained Shinta, trying to shove Lance's hand away from his hair.

-"He,he! You complain too much,...crybaby!"

-"Jerk..."

-"Whiny child!"

-"Arrogant prick!"

-"Brat!"

-"Meanie!"

Both Saints laughed again, though Lance's outburst was more controled than before. After they both calmed down, Lance winked at Shinta and turned his back on him, climbing the stairs and waving his good hand from above his shoulder:

-"I'll see you later, little brother!"- he said

-"Bye, Nichan!"- answered Shinta

Shinta then departed for the Sanctuary's town while Lance climbed the endless stairs of the Gold Zodiac. Even after climbing both Mount Olympus and the mountains of Rozan more times than he could count, Lance still hated to have to climb all those stairs. This fact was kind of ironic, really. Lance tried not to think about how many stairs he still had to climb as he passed through the temples one-by-one. Upon reaching the Temple of Cancer, Lance stopped, allowing himself to take a deep breath at the entrance of what was, technically, his home, even though he never really got a chance to protect it or even claim it in any way. Lance departed immediatly for China as soon as he received his Gold Cloth of Cancer, which meant that he didn't really have any kind of actual attachment to the temple. Lance looked back, contemplating the entire Sanctuary Grounds from his high position, as well as the endless sea that layed out before him, beyond the town's port. Winds blowed from the sea battered on his face...winds that probably shaped the entire natural base of the territory over thousands of years. Over the years, he had learned, mostly through the influence of others, to value the Sanctuary, especially after his desire to be free from it was almost completely crushed under the two years of living and training with Dohko-sama. Thinking about the latest two years of his life, Lance resumed his path towards the most important building of the organization, wondering if the rumors of a shortcut that leads directly to the last temple were true...

After what seemed like hours of climbing, though Lance was sure that he didn't even spent half an hour (courtesy of the Fire Clock towering next to the Gold Zodiac), he finally reached the entrance of the great three-stories building, where some of the most decisive moments of his life would take place...Entering the great hall, Lance instantly recognized the path leading to the Pope's throneroom, taking it and reaching the hallway just before his destination, following the ever-present red carpet and surrounded by the marble walls filled with curtains though void of any kind of windows. He stopped in front of the great wooden doors and took a deep breath...He then knocked at the door three times and waited...

No answer. Lance tried to imagine what Shion-sama was doing back then, perhaps looking for some sort of excuse that would allow his wait to be more bearable. Lance, instead, immediatly remembered all the steps he had to take to reach the building and couldn't help but grunt a little. Gathering every shred of audacity that survived the two years of education under Libra Dohko, Lance grabbed the handles of both doors and pushed down, opening them, and finally entered the great room...to find it empty...

Lance sweatdropped...

_-"Well..."- _he thought_-"At least there's a reason for the wait..."_

The room was very large and, at each side of the end of it, there was a door. Both doors lead to a path that, in turn, lead to a single stair that unified them, all part of the symetrical design of the bottom floor of the Halls. Those stairs lead to the final area of the Sanctuary: the statue of Athena. The stairs leading to te upper floors were located right at the entrance of the building, meaning that the first floor was consisted of only the lobby, the corridor, the throneroom, and the stairs leading to the Colossus. The Pope suddenly emerged from the door at the left, his attention focused on a chart in his hands and not even noticing the Cancer Saint of Gold. Lance, however, noticed HIM and staggered, surprised by his sudden appearance, immediatly straightening himself up like a lower soldier. Shion then saw Lance and staggered a little too, also surprised.

-"Oh, hello, Lance."- he said, placing the chart on the arm of his throneroom and heading towards Lance-"Sorry, I didn't notice you. I didn't think you would arrive so early..."

Shion stopped before Lance, who took a respectful bow at the masked man.

-"Greetings, Shion-sama!"- he saluted-"I bring you the Cancer Gold Cloth, the Libra Gold Cloth and a letter from my master adressed to your Holiness!"

-"I see...But you didn't have to climb all those stairs just to deliver these things...you could just order a Silver Saint to do it, you know?"

Lance was a taken a little aback, suddenly being reminded of his authority over the lower ranking soldiers. He didn't get much of a chance to order people around while in Rozan and he never really saw himself as much of a leader...

-"Yes, I know that, Shion-sama. But my master requested to be present to hear your response to his message."

-"He did?"- beneath his mask, Shion conceiled an intrigued look-"...Do you know what he wants to tell me?"

-"I have no such privilege, Shion-sama."

-"I see..."

Lance wondered why the Pope was so intrigued by Dohko-sama's letter. Over time, Lance got used to read Shion-sama's tone of voice and hand gestures to identify his emotions, since the masked face was a complete dead end in that matter. Lance reached for his black pants's pocket and took out the letter, delivering it to Shion. The masked man analyzed the letter, taking special care to check the seal, before opening it and removing the piece of paper inside. Shion read it, mumbling to himself the contents of the letter as if already used to receiving the same message introduction over and over. However, the mumbling then stopped, which, combined with the fact that Shion slightly approached the letter to his face as if to read it better, allowed Lance to deduce that he was, at least, surprised with the message. The mumbling refused to resume, even after Shion read the whole letter once more, as if trying to make sure he was reading right. Shion then folded the piece of paper and placed it inside it's already torn open receptacle, which, in turn, were carefully stored inside his vest. Shion then returned his attention to Lance...

-"You..."- he said-"You really don't have any idea what he said in the message, do you?"

-"No, Shion-sama."

-"...Lance, you can leave the Gold Cloths here...I'll arrange a proper repair later..."

Lance obeyed, placing both golden boxes on each side of the wooden door and preparing to leave the room. However, when he was about to open the doors, Shion called to him:

-"Lance...would you me a favour and come with me...?"

Lance stopped and turned around to face his superior.

-"...As you wish, Shion-sama..."- he answered

Shion walked past Lance and opened the wooden doors before him, Lance following him closely. They walked through the corridor and reached the lobby. Lance thought that they were going to leave the building when, suddenly, Shion took a turn right and headed towards a small, simple, wooden door. Shion opened the door and entered it, though Lance stopped at the entrance.

-"What's wrong, Lance?"- Shion asked

-"Shion-sama, I don't have clearance to enter these rooms."

Shion chukled from beneath his mask:

-"What do you say today we make an exception?"

Lance hesitated a little before entering the room, and the two resumed their walk. The door was actually yet another corridor, though this one lacked the fancy decorations that categorized the rest of the great palace. In fact, this corridor was dark and old, with simple rock brick walls lacking any kind of paint job and only illuminated by old-fashioned torches instead of electricity. In fact, the corridor reminded Lance of the insides of the Pegasus temple in Mouth Olympus, though he repressed that memory immediatly, as it wasn't a particularly pleasant one. The corridor instantly took a turn right, which they both followed, though this turn was straight, perhaps leading to the other end of the palace. They both silently walked through it, before reaching yet another turn to the right, and Lance imagined that they were now walking beneath the stairs leading to the Colossus. The last turn was also short, ending in a circular room with spiral stairs leading deep below the Pope's Halls.

-"Shion-sama, where are we?"- Lance asked as they both started climbing down the stairs.

-"This is a path which is almost always restricted to anyone below my rank...It leads to a secret room deep beneath the Halls of the Pope. It has only been used a few times throughout it's entire existence so it's not nearly as glamourous as the rest of the building. Be patient, Lance. I will soon explain why you are here with me."

After climbing down over 10 meters below the Hall's level, the stairs ended in a wooden door with enourmous signs of decay...Shion cleared the spider webs around the handle and wrapped it's fingers around it. Shion hesitated for a moment, causing Lance to wander just what exactly was in the other side of the room, before the Pope, with a single, strong shove, opened the creaky door and they both entered the room.

It was a large room, with a mysterious illumination that seemed to come from it's center. Both men climbed down the short stairs that lead to the circular space from where all the illumination came from. The floor was marked with what seemed much like the drawings beneath the hands of the Fire Clock: a white circle divided in 12 equal parts, each part marked with a zodiac sign drawn in white exactly like the ones in the Fire Clock at the edge of the circle, the bottom of each sign facing the center of the ring in which stood the most impressive feature: a cubical, golden box, which radiated with an intense light and looked exactly like a Gold Cloth Box! On the front side there was the handle that allowed it's opening and on all the other sides there were carvings of a single, 12-pointed star...12 golden flames burned on each division of the almost ritualistic circle in which the cloth was standing, right next to the object, and, besides being the source of illumination in the room, it seemed as if they were being mantained by the box, as there was no limber or oil feeding them...

Lance was completely awestruck

_-"What is this...?"- _he thought, mouth opened in sheer disbelief, before asking the man beside him-" Shion-sama,...what is that...box?"

Lance couldn't really tell because of the mask, but he had the feeling that Shion just smiled to him. The Pope grabbed the mask in his face and removed it, revealing his true looks for the first time since Lance was offered the Cancer Gold Cloth...He gazed at the box, admiring it's beauty and shine, seemingly lost in thoughts...

-"...I was surprised with the suggestion my good friend Dohko made in that letter"- muttered Shion, as if not wanting to disrespect the box with too loud of a voice-"but...perhaps there will be no harm in trying..."

-"Shion-sama, I-"

-"Lance, I want you to try to approach the box."- Shion ordered, interrupting him.

Lance gulped, hesitating. He looked at the flames surrounding the box and wondered if he was going to get hurt...Lance walked right next to the edge of the circle, taking a deep breath before taking a step inside the "ring"...Nothing happened...Lance's other foot joined the first and Lance waited...Nothing happened. He looked above his shoulder at Shion, who nodded at the Gold Saint, encouraging him to go further. Lance looked back at the flames and saw that he was still two steps away from the flames and, hence, he took another one. However, as soon as this step touched the ground, the air suddenly became slightly electrifing, some very small sparks burning the tip of Lance's daring foot. He also felt smaller shocks in the respective leg and even smaller ones on the knee. Lance slowly moved his good hand forward, as if trying to reach out for the box from where he was standing. After passing a certain distance, the tip of his fingers seemed to enter a layer of around the center of the ring that was thicker and electrified, and took a step back. The shocks weren't painful...far from it, really. But Lance deduced that, should he get too close, the flames would be the last thing on his mind...

Lance left the ring and confronted Shion, who smiled at him.

-"There is a offensive barrier around it..."- said Lance

-"There is, isn't there? It's really just a manifestation of it's will. Should you take far too many steps...you would get continuously shocked with an intensity proportional to how close you are too it. This barrier is also a sign that the box won't open even if you pull the handle."

Lance stood silent for a moment before asking:

-"What is all of this?"

-"It's a Gold Cloth, of course."

-"No...it's not. There are only 12 Gold Cloths, each representing a zodiac sign..."

-"And yet, the thirteenth stands behind you."

-"A cloth...but it's impossible, Shion-sama! There even shouldn't be more than 88 cloths! If that is a cloth, then what constellation does it represent?"

-"I assure you, Lance, that the object standing there IS a cloth of the Saints of Athena."

-"But how?"

-"I understand your confusion, Lance. I really do! Allow me to explain..."

Lance devoted his full attention to Shion, who began his speech:

-"Ahem...As you probably know due to the studies that you undertook under Dohko's guidance, 2000 years ago, sometime before the birth of Jesus Christ, a Holy War was fought between Poseidon and Athena..."

-"Right."- agreed Lance-"Poseidon wished to punish mankind for our sins and wash over the planet of our existence. Athena disagreed with her uncle's methods and the war began."

-"Exactly. You know our history well, Lance. But do you know of Pope Gabriel, who ruled over the Sanctuary immediatly after the war ended?"

-"Actually, no."

-"It's only natural that you don't. Not only the study of former Popes isn't enforced on apprendices, but this bit of history that I'm going to tell you is usually only known by men with equal or superior rank to that of a Saint of Gold. For you see, Lance, Pope Gabriel was once known as Leo Gabriel...He was the first Sacred Saint of Athena!"

-"Sacred...Saint?"

-"Yes...During the course of the war, many lives were lost. Even among the Saints of Gold. In fact, only three survived to fight alongside Athena in the last battle against Poseidon. They were the hebrew Leo Gabriel, the roman Gemini Gaius and the greek Capricorn Herarthos. After the last surviving Marina Generals were finally defeated, Gaius dying at the hands of the Chrisaor General, Athena and the two surviving Saints of Gold fought Poseidon directly."

-"And Athena sealed Poseidon in a Amphora, right?"

-"Not exactly, Lance. For you see, the Amphora was really just a last resort plan. Athena wanted to give Poseidon a chance to see the error of his ways...After all, they are family. And this kind of punishment shouldn't be delivered lightly."

-"Then, what happened?"

-"As soon as Poseidon figured Lady Athena's plan, a brutal battle ensued in which he absolutely refused to give her a chance to use her Seal. Herarthos was killed by the wrathful god in a vain attempt to buy Athena some time to use the Amphora. Gabriel was also heavily wounded, meaning that Athena was defenseless...Poseidon almost killed Athena, Lance. There was nothing that Gabriel could do, for his Leo Gold Cloth was torn to pieces by Poseidon's Trident and he was wounded."

Shion made a pause, trying to remember the facts related to that incredible battle, or perhaps simply trying to find the right words to use in his story.

-"Seeing his comrades fall one-by-one was the hardest thing he ever had to endure, according to his journal."- resumed Shion-"But he tried again, Lance. He put himself once again in harm's way to protect Athena...And he was almost killed too, Lance..."

There was a moment of pause before Shion suddenly pulled out a dagger from beneath his sleeve, fast as lightning. Lance only saw a golden flash and a hand grabbing his collar and pushing him against the wall. As LAnce felt the impact on his back, his good hand raised itself and his foreharm blocked Shion's, the tip of the golden dagger half an inch in front of his throat. Lance did not dare to breath...

-"Do you see this, Lance?"- asked Shion-"This...is how close the tip of the Great Trident of Power was...to his chest. Do you feel the adrenaline? Do you feel the fear? Then imagine it a 100 times worse. Imagine that the person holding the blade next to your neck is a GOD! A person you can't defeat! A situation that you can't fight your way out...in which all those emotions and all that adrenaline and all of your power...is useless!...The sheer despair...Can you imagine it?"

A sweat ran down Lance's cheek. Shion slowly moved away from Lance, freeing him from the wall and from the imminent danger...

-"That's how he felt, Lance...Only that his insides were all broken as well...But he resisted, Lance...Even in a situation in which he could just give up, get out of the way or don't get in the way in the first place...He still fought...Dohko says that you got in the way of a Libra Weapon to save your friend Shinta...What would you do, Lance...if you were in Gabriel's position? Would you defend Athena's life, despite knowing that she would die, anyway?"

Lance didn't know what to answer...the polite answer would be "yes!". The proper answer would be "yes!". the right answer WOULD be "yes!". But...that was not how he truly felt...

-"He did it, Lance."- continued Shion-"He got in the way...for our leader. For our Goddess!...And his reward was both survival and power. He came closer to death than either one of us ever have, but a miracle happened...From the heavens themselves, that box..."- Shion pointed at the golden box-"...came crashing down like a meteor of celestial hope. Lance...BEHOLD! The Gold Cloth of TEOS! Sent to save the world from those who do nothing but destroy and kill! It's absolute power puts your Gold Cloth, and all the others, to shame! Teos Gabriel was born...a hero! Only the greatest among us can ever use it and they are all destined to do great things...monumental things...Giving Gabriel, a mortal, the power to fight back the wrath of a god, albeit a weakened one, was only the first of it's awestrucking miracles..."

-"Teos...Who...who created it?"

-"Who knows...Some say it was Zeus himself! Some say that it was created spontaneously by the great cosmos of the universe! Others say that it was the announcement of the Christian God, a theory that, back then, was very supported..."- Shion paused, reflecting on some unknown thought, before continuing-"...The battle was won. Gabriel was announced a full-fledged hero and, later on, Pope. Those that acquire the Cloth are even granted a rank of their own...The Sacred Saint of Athena...the third-in-command within the Sanctuary. Taking orders only from the Pope and Athena herself, and having complete authority over all Saints of Gold, the Sacred Saint of Athena is truly the military leader of the Sanctuary! He even has the power to allow the use of Libra Weapons. Should the Pope be absent, the Sacred Saint will take his place."

-"I don't understand, Shion-sama. How can this cloth even exist? Which constellation does it represent?"

-"The cloth does not represent a constellation...It represents the similarities between humans, gods and titans...everything that it is common between the three races...This makes it unique in both power and meaning. This is why the cloth may enter in cosmical sync with anyone that wears it, unlocking it's true power under any circunstances...unlike the other cloths."

-"Everything that it is common between them...But...why are you telling me all of this?"

-"Because, Lance, I believe that you have what it takes to become a Sacred Saint of Athena."

-"...Why?"

-"Because Dohko told me in the letter that he believe you could become one...Hence, I have full belief in that theory as well..."

-"...Do you expect me to become one?"

-"...The Teos Gold Cloth is extremely demanding, Lance. It is far more sentient than any other cloth you might meet. Some say that it's intelligence and wisdom surpasses rivals that of a god. Until now, it has only emerged in situations of unequaled heroism. It is not enough to reach physical, mental or spiritual perfection...You need to have what it takes to become a hero, Lance!"

-"How many men have reached that rank?"

-"Three...including Gabriel. I'm not going to lie, Lance. They were all true champions of the Sanctuary. Authentic samaritans ready to give their own lives to protect the ideals of good will and peace...and they all went through hell before becoming Saints of Teos. The first one was Gabriel, of course, who died in 403 ad in his bed, surrounded by his followers and friends. The second one emerged during the 7th century. His name was Pisces Haniel. He won the cloth after defeating the hell judge Garuda Baian, who was more of a monster than a man. Garuda Baian was responsible for the death of 6 of the 10 members of the order of Saints of Gold that died during that Holy War before he was finally defeated. He attacked the Gold Zodiac directly, taking with him only a small squadron of specters, and killed the Leo Saint, the Libra Saint and the Capricorn Saint along with over a dozen Saints of Bronze before Haniel challenged him. The battle was horrific as, even after killing so many Gold Saints, Baian was yet to break a sweat. Haniel, however, defeated him even without the Teos Gold Cloth and destroyed the specters that Baian brought with him. The Teos Cloth then appeared before him, having been just a relic of the Sanctuary until then, and replaced the damaged Pisces Gold Cloth as Haniel's armor. After that, Teos Haniel, Taurus Van, Virgo Kal, Gemini Careon and Athena battled Hades, Thanatos and Hypnos. the Gemini Saint was killed by Hades, Thanatos and Hypnos were defeated by Taurus Van and Virgo Kal and Athena and Haniel squared off with Hades. They would succeed in the end, but Haniel, suffering terrible injuries caused by Hades's godly power and with the Teos Gold Cloth severely damaged, would die shortly after Hades's defeat. But not because of the wounds..."

-"Then, if not of the wounds, because of what?"

Shion hesitated a little, wondering if he should reveal or not the answer...

-"Haniel was killed...by the Teos Gold Cloth itself..."

-"What? The Cloth killed him? How? And why?"

Shion looked away from Lance, as if ashamed by the cloth's deed:

-"...The Teos Gold Cloth CAN be damaged...but it doesn't need repairs. Can you imagine why, Lance?"

-"Well..."-Lance paused, trying to form an answer-"All cloths can regerate...but past a certain point they need blood of Saints to restore themselves because their regeneration is limited."

-"...The Teos Gold Cloth has a unique regeneration ability, Lance...Instead of regenerating by itself, whenever it is damaged, even if it is just a small scratch...it sucks up the wearer's cosmos and uses it to repair itself immediatly after taking the damage..."

Lance's mouth was wide open in shock...Shion continued his explanation:

-"It will not stop until it is restored to it's original state...It will suck you dry, Lance. Haniel didn't die because he was hurt...He died because he didn't get the cloth away from his body in time...and because we all ignored the existence of such a factor...Athena would have just healed him if that was the case."

Lance gulped.

-"I can only imagine the expression of sheer horror in the faces of Athena and the Saints of Gold as they watched their beloved hero...and friend, being drained of his cosmos to his death...the damage done to his body by the cloth must have been terrible..."- said Shion, shivering, probably with the image of a highly decayed Haniel-"...Make no mistake, Lance. The Teos cloth cares more about itself than it does about it's owner. It's probably because it believes that it's role is far more important than that of the Sacred Saint... It will cause your death just to repair a small scratch..."

-"What about the third one?"- Lance asked, trying to change the subject.

-"Ahhh. Virgo Dias. His case is more complex, albeit far more interesting. He was originally known as Phoenix Dias, carrying the corresponding cloth and having trained in Death Queen's Island. After letting go of the hate that categorized the carriers of the Phoenix title, Dias ascended to the status of Gold Saint of Virgo...He is known as the greatest of the three in terms of deeds and power."

-"How did he became the Saint of Teos?"

-"He played an important role in a battle...well, maybe I should start from the beginning. During the 13th century, roused by the coming of Ragnarok, the Warriors of Asgard, lead by their corrupted King, attacked the Sanctuary with the intent of destroying the supposed threat we represented to their power. Virgo Dias defeated the King in a bloody battle and received the Gold Cloth of Teos after surpressing a huge flow of dormant hate that the King was forcing to awake inside of him. You see, Lance, due to Dias's deeds, Sacred Saints of Athena are automatically view as allies in Asgardian territory regardless of their deeds or reputation. Dias organized the Warriors of Asgard after redirecting them to their true enemies and was vital in the forge of a alliance of powers between them and the Saints of Athena. This all occured during a time in which Athena was absent so Dias became the leader of the force that would battle Ragnarok. Once in Asgard, Teos Dias, blessed by the Norse God, removed Odin's sword from it's resting place and used it to fight the many monsters that emerged during the Twilight of the Gods. He's responsible for the death of Fenrir, Surtr and even the Warrior of Ragnarok himself, who was the very personification of the event and the leader of the monsters. During the battle, Dias was pushed into a corner by the near-invencible warrior. However, something strange happened then. No one knows for sure how but,...Dias, at the verge of death, awakened a great power deep inside of him that allowed him to defeat Ragnarok...Those present say that his aura was burning like the Phoenix's flames and his eyes were filled with a indescribeable hate, releasing a power capable of killing gods...Ragnarok was stopped for good and the world was saved...After the battle, though, Dias would perish due to the wounds he suffered, though, this time, it was really the wounds, and not the cloth, that killed him..."

-"Shion-sama..."

-"I'm offering you a challenge, Lance. Do you accept it? Can you somehow conquer the Gold Cloth of legend, the most powerful weapon a mortal can handle?"

Lance did not answer...

-"You don't have to answer, Lance. You either work for it or you don't. It's that simple..."

-"..."

Later...

The two men stood before the stairs of the Hall's entrance, simply staring at the horizon. Lance was sitting in the stairs while Shion was standing straight, his mask once again covering his face. They were both silent, thinking about the converstation they had before the Teos Gold Cloth's room...Shion turned his back on the scenery and started walking back inside:

-"I'll arrange your Gold Cloth to be repaired, Lance."- he said as he walked towards the lobby-"You can pick it up by the end of the day..."

-"Keep it!"

Shion stopped. He turned around and saw that Lance was still sitting in the same step, staring at the scenery...

-"I beg your pardon?"

-"I said that you can keep it, Shion-sama."- answered Lance, who got up, arms folded, still staring at the same direction.

-"What do you mean, Lance?"

-"...I need to prove myself to the Teos Cloth, right?"

-"...Right."

-"I need to prove myself...«myself» being the keyword. I'm going to train... not just my body, but my mind and spirit as well...I'll prove that I don't need a Gold Cloth to be worthy..."

Lance then turned around and the two pairs of red eyes met each other.

-"I'm going to become as powerful as I can possibly become..."- Lance continued-"When I do, I'll take the test again...If it doesn't work, I'll just have to think of something else, then."

-"Lance, you can't fight your way to this. You have to prove your heroism!"

-"I don't care how long or what it takes!...If that chance comes,...to prove my heroism...then I'll be ready. If it doesn't, then good...Because, if I ever need it, then it will be in a time of great catastrophe...and let us hope that never happens."

_-"...You've really grown a lot, Lance."- _thought Shion, surprised_-"You're putting the well-being of the Sanctuary before your own desire for power or challenge...Maybe Dohko was right in his letter and you are the only one among us who actually deserves trying...But you are right. I hope you never need it..."_

Lance stared climbing down the stairs:

-"Goodbye, Shion-sama. I'll see you later."

-"Goodbye, Lance. Say hello to your friend for me..."

-"...I will."

Lance disappeared from Shion's sight as he entered the back entrance of the Pisces temple. Shion removed Dohko's letter from within his vest and read it once more, still findind hard to believe that Lance proved himself so much as a Saint of Gold. Shion recalled within his memory the day he met Lance...

_-"Truly, there was nothing about that defying kid that would indicate that he would grow so much..."- _he thought

Shion crumbled the piece of paper between both hands and caused a flame to spark with his cosmos, incinerating the letter. He then dropped the burning object to the floor and went back inside...

Chapter End

* * *

_"The true objective of the Teos Gold Cloth wouldn't be known by anyone besides Poseidon, Hades, Zeus and the Titans until the last Holy War between Athena and Hades. That knowledge, however, was taken to Lance's grave and became once again one of the many secrets guarded by the gods."_

-in "_Might of the Gold Cloth_"(2019) by Unknown Author


End file.

Saint Seiya, Adventure, Fantasy